Online banks are under siege. From fake apps to deepfake CEO impersonations, cybercriminals chase banking and finance organizations across digital landscapes with increasingly sophisticated tools. According to IBM, the banking sector remains one of the most targeted industry for cyberattacks, accounting for nearly 30% of all breaches. With so much at stake, it’s no wonder that cybercriminals consistently double down on exploiting vulnerabilities in the digital banking ecosystem.
Here, we’ll explore the evolving threat landscape facing online banks, from phishing scams to social media fraud and fake apps. We’ll also show how a smart Digital Risk Protection (DRP) solution can help organizations, leadership teams, and consumers stay safe by proactively identifying and mitigating risks across hundreds of online channels.
In brief: How to chase banking cyberattackers away from your assets
In short, the answer lies in a Digital Risk Protection solution that scours all relevant online threat channels to detect and neutralize risks. This includes:
- Suspicious domains with active mail servers sending phishing emails.
- Fake apps on platforms like the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
- Dark web paste bins where hackers share stolen credit card details.
- Social media impersonations and fraudulent ads targeting your customers.
By compiling these insights into a single source of truth, DRP solutions empower banks to stay ahead of cybercriminals. Detecting threats as soon as they arise also helps you unleash effective takedown and enforcement tools to enforce your digital perimeter. However, before we get into that, let’s explore the most common types of cyberattacks facing modern banks and finance companies online.
What’s driving the rise in cyberattacks against online banks?
Cybercriminals chase banking firms across the internet with unprecedented ease thanks to the democratization of AI tools. Where once it took advanced coding skills to create a fake landing page or configure an MX server, now even a child can do it with a smartphone. Similarly, scammers no longer need fluent native English to impersonate a CEO or customer support agent—AI-powered chatbots and large language models (LLMs) enable flawless text, voice, and even video impersonations.
This accessibility, and the money at play, fuels surge in attacks against online banks. These attacks often fall into one of the five categories below.
1. Phishing: The gateway to financial fraud
Phishing remains one of the most common and effective attack vectors. Cybercriminals use spear phishing, CEO fraud, and deepfake technology to trick employees and customers into revealing sensitive information.
In the UK, scammers stole over £1 billion from the banking industry in 2022 alone. One notable case involved a European bank that lost €70 million in a CEO fraud scheme launched from another country. These attacks often start with a single email or message, but their consequences can be devastating.
Spear phishing, in particular, targets high-level executives with personalized messages, while deepfake technology allows scammers to impersonate CEOs in video calls. The combination of these tactics makes phishing a persistent and evolving threat.
2. Social media scams: Attackers chase banking consumers with ads
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have become hotbeds for banking scams. Cybercriminals create fake profiles, run fraudulent ads, and send direct messages to impersonate banks and their employees.
Fake investment ads on Facebook and Instagram have duped countless users into handing over their savings. Scammers use stolen logos, images, and credentials to make their campaigns appear legitimate. These tactics erode consumer trust and damage brand reputation, making social media monitoring a critical component of any cybersecurity strategy.
For example, a recent investigation revealed that fraudulent investment ads on Facebook and Instagram targeted vulnerable users, promising high returns on fake schemes. Without proper monitoring, these scams can go unnoticed for months, causing significant financial and reputational harm.
3. Deceptive login page scams
Once upon a time, it was easy to tell when you click on a fake login page for your banking provider. Typos, website imagery, and dodgy internal links all presented dead giveaways, but nowadays, that’s no longer the case. Scammers create and mass-produce picture-perfect banking and investment websites, mirroring legitimate brands of all shapes and sizes. They host these pages on lookalike domains and unused domain extensions, hiding them from authorities and deploying devious distribution tactics to chase banking consumers across the internet.
Using the aforementioned social media and email campaigns to spread their malicious login pages to customers and colleagues, they also use unique hosting tactics to avoid detection. Scammers exploit the fact that banks operate across international markets, and the fact that users prefer different devices to access financial services online, including computers, mobile phones, and even tablets. If a cybercriminal configures a fake login page that only materializes on mobile, and only when the mobile operates in the country of Luxembourg, for example, how is a CISO or SOC team working on computers in a head office in New York, London, or Munich going to detect it? And how can they take it down. Thankfully, as we’ll continue to explore in this guide, well-protected organizations leverage Digital Risk Protection services to keep themselves and their users safe.
4. Fake Apps: A growing threat on app stores
Fake banking apps pose another major concern for finance industry CISOs. Cybercriminals upload these apps to official platforms like the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, where they can easily deceive unsuspecting users.
In one case, two Irish men were arrested for creating a fake banking app that stole user credentials. These apps often mimic the branding and functionality of legitimate banking apps, making them difficult to detect. Without proper monitoring, fake apps can lead to significant financial losses and reputational damage.
The challenge lies in the sheer volume of apps uploaded daily, making it difficult for app stores to catch every fraudulent submission. This underscores the need for proactive monitoring by banks themselves.
5. Smear Campaigns: Reputational damage and legal risks
Growing online banks and new players are particularly vulnerable to smear campaigns. Cybercriminals and competitors alike can exploit social media, forums, and other platforms to spread false information and damage reputations.
Revolut, for example, faced legal challenges and reputational damage due to a so-called “de-banking” case. Proactive monitoring and takedown of malicious content are essential to safeguarding your brand’s integrity.
Smear campaigns can take many forms, from fake reviews to coordinated attacks on social media. Their damage often sticks in the memories of peers and the public, affecting subconscious perceptions and conscious actions alike. Ultimately, these kinds of tactics dislodge customer trust and knock investor confidence.
Conclusions: How to chase banking cyberattackers away
The threat landscape for online banks is evolving rapidly, but with the right tools, you can stay one step ahead. A Digital Risk Protection solution provides the visibility and control needed to identify and neutralize threats before they escalate.
If you want to see what’s out there, and identify cyberattackers impersonating your banking firm, you can also use a free audit. This tool shines a spotlight on any relevant digital channels around your organization, from domains to app stores to social media and beyond. The insights help you identify any scammers lurking in the digital darkness, waiting to strike. In a world where compliance regulations and market competition tighten every quarter, the proactive approach proves safer, more strategic, and more cost-effective for banks and financial institutions.
