Fraudamos

Fraudamos is a neologism used in security and financial crime discussions to describe a class of coordinated, automated fraud campaigns that span multiple online channels. The term is used as shorthand for observed patterns in how fraud operators organize and sustain large-scale deception, rather than naming a single group.

Its exact origin is unclear, but fraudamos has appeared in industry blogs and research discussions since the early 2020s. It is treated as a category or ecosystem rather than a specific criminal organization.

Characteristics commonly attributed to fraudamos include high levels of automation, cross-platform activity, and the use of compromised or synthetic identities to execute and cash out fraudulent transactions.

Techniques associated with fraudamos cover credential stuffing, account takeover, phishing and social engineering, mule networks to move funds, and money-laundering schemes designed to obscure provenance. The aim is to maximize efficiency and scale while evading detection across multiple payment rails and platforms.

Impacts include direct financial losses for individuals and businesses, increased costs for fraud prevention, and heightened risk for payment processors and marketplaces. It also spurs regulatory scrutiny and demands for collaborative detection, rapid response, and shared intelligence.

Defensive measures emphasize layered identity verification, device and session intelligence, risk-scoring, and real-time anomaly detection. Information sharing across institutions, payment networks, and online platforms is often cited as essential for timely disruption and disruption of operatives.

See also: fraud as a service, synthetic identity fraud, mule accounts, credential stuffing.