Financial Institutions See Increasing Threat with Disposable E-mail

In response to having their E-mail addresses constantly traded and sold only to end up being bombarded by spam, consumers have struck back at retailers and corporations.

Disposable E mail

They’ve pulled the plug on the unwanted online marketing mayhem with what’s known as disposable E-mail addresses (DEA).  Accounts don’t require any personal registration information like a name, birthday or location.  They’re also not activated until an E-mail is received.  The only thing needed to confirm a purchase or authorize a financial transaction is knowledge of the E-mail address itself.  The most common extensions for DEAs tend to be .com, .net, .org and .us. 

In a brief, but thorough review by Chris Silveria of Guardian Analytics, featured by the ABA Banking Journal, you’ll see how fraudsters are using DEAs to scam financial institutions in 5 easy steps.  Then, like a plot point out of a James Bond film, the DEA evidence just dissolves into thin air without a trace.

“As an indicator of the growing popularity of DEAs, Guardian Analytics Fraud Intelligence analyzed all confirmed fraud cases that involved a changed E-mail address. Of these, 30% used a disposable E-mail address. So, this is a widespread and prevalent scheme.”