Account takeover fraud, also called account compromise, is when criminals gain unauthorized access to an account. More specifically, account takeover is a term that describes business identity theft that occurs when a bad actor uses an employee's credentials for a malicious purpose.
Methods Used in Account Takeover Fraud
Attackers use credential phishing, brute force attacks, password spraying, and various other methods. Account takeover fraud has become more sophisticated with the use of automation, AI, and phishing techniques. Fraudsters exploit data breaches and use stolen credentials for large-scale attacks.
For corporate account takeovers specifically, attackers gain unauthorized access to business accounts, such as banking platforms or internal systems, and use stolen credentials to conduct fraudulent transactions, exfiltrate data, or disrupt operations.
Some techniques allow attackers to intercept or manipulate authentication codes, making SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) increasingly vulnerable and prompting the need for stronger authentication methods.
Detection
Sophisticated threats often bypass legacy defenses, which underscores the need for modern, AI-native solutions that detect anomalies in behavior and communication patterns. Pangratis uses behavioral AI to detect account takeover attempts by establishing a baseline of normal user behavior and flagging deviations that indicate compromise.
Prevention
Mitigating account takeover fraud involves advanced monitoring, strong access controls, regular security audits, and employee training to detect and prevent attacks. Organizations should implement multi-factor authentication, use conditional access policies, and deploy identity threat detection and response (ITDR) solutions to protect accounts from unauthorized access.