ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Report 2017 data also revealed bot activity levels, represented by 1.5 billion bot attacks, account for up to 90 percent of traffic on some retail sites. Even consumers not directly affected suffer, as they experience lengthier identity verification by many businesses attempting to separate legitimate activity from fraud.

Cyberattack levels hit more extreme spikes in 2017 than ever before. These spikes, when aggregated across thousands of organizations, point to major data breaches—often even before they have hit the headlines. For example, the ThreatMetrix Digital Identity Network detected unprecedented spikes in irregular behavior immediately after Equifax fell victim to major incidents.

ThreatMetrix noted serious security breaches target every organization is a target, putting the onus on downstream protections across all websites and applications to prevent leaked data from fraudulent use.

"As attacks intensify, so does the need for investment in advanced technologies to protect consumers, including individuals with breached identity and financial credentials," Vanita Pandey, vice president of product marketing and strategy at ThreatMetrix said. "Analyzing transactions based on true digital identity is the most effective way to instantly differentiate between legitimate users and cybercriminals. We leave traces of our identity everywhere, and by mapping the ever-changing associations between people, their devices, accounts, locations and addresses, across the businesses with which they interact, trusted behavior for an individual becomes apparent."

Trends in consumer behavior influenced cybercriminals' increasingly complex attack patterns. Examples of both, as identified by the ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Report 2017, include:

• The volume of mobile transactions grew by nearly 83 percent as consumers embrace multi-device behavior, with mobile overtaking desktop-based transactions for the first time in 2017.
• Account takeovers attacks increased 170 percent, now taking place once every 10 seconds.
• Between 2015 and 2017, fraudsters attempted to open 83 million fake new accounts.  Cybercriminals create complete identities and open new accounts by quilting together identity data, harvested from breaches and the dark web.
• Fraudulent payments increased 100 percent over the last two years. Fraudsters use a stolen credit card, or hack into a victim's bank account, to transfer money to a new beneficiary.
• Emerging industries—particularly ridesharing and gift card trading sites— are particularly susceptible to fraud, as cybercriminals exploit new platforms for doing business.
• Hackers are getting even craftier. The Cybercrime Report 2017 confirmed hackers are layering their efforts to make them harder for individuals to detect, sometimes using engineering tactics.

"With the volume and complexity of attacks increasing daily, businesses need to accurately differentiate customers from criminals in real time, without impacting transaction speeds or introducing unnecessary friction," Pandey continued.  "By looking beyond static data—and drilling down to the dynamic intricacies of how people transact online—companies can continue to grow their digital businesses with confidence."