Consumer retail brands that enjoy robust online traffic are prime targets for impersonation attacks (when criminals use a brand’s name and likeness to fool and lure their customers). By offering deceptive too-good-to-be-true “deals”, special “offers”, and last-minute “sales”, well-known consumer brands consistently rank among some of the most impersonated.
Primark, an Ireland-based fashion, home, and beauty retailer with a global footprint, has undergone a substantial digital transformation in recent years. Since 2020, Primark’s digital presence has grown from a basic website featuring less than 15% of in-store products to over 80%. In addition, Primark’s web traffic has tripled and their digital team has grown in parallel as store stock-checker functionality was added in all markets, as well as a thriving click-and-collect business in the UK.
…particularly from sophisticated European threat actors generating imposter sites at scale.
To complicate matters, the incumbent brand protection solution was manual and reactive, with takedowns sometimes taking weeks to enact. As Primark’s Head of Digital Experience, Humphrey Rose became the internal point of contact regarding online brand impersonation and responsible for taking down fraudulent spoofs.
Recognizing that Primark’s customers and reputation as a trusted retailer could be impacted by these types of imposter sites, a proof of value (POV) was initiated to try PreCrime Brand.
Recognizing that Primark’s customers and reputation as a trusted retailer could be impacted by these types of imposter sites, a proof of value (POV) was initiated to try PreCrime Brand.
The quantifiable data provided during the POV showing the sheer number of sites impersonating the brand was instrumental in securing internal buy-in. The ease and speed with which these fraudulent infrastructures were identified and takedowns successfully executed also helped seal the deal.
“The move to a solution which enables rules-based, process-driven decision making in managing these issues is well suited to the way that our CISO’s operation works and enables much more scalability in our operating model,” Rose explains. “Now, Primark is now able to manage these attacks without having to dedicate as much time and effort to do so.”
However, the most significant impact has been the reduction in internal escalations and the quiet efficiency of the new system. Rose puts it this way, “The good news is that we have to talk less about this internally now. Before, we would have these issues flagged to us and now we are on the front foot. And that is a good start. You know, this world is best when it’s quiet… no news is good news.”
“We’ve a bit of a problem here as we grow our digital footprint and brand in 17 markets and we’re a sizable player in some of those markets now,” Rose recounts. “We have reached that sweet spot in many of our markets where customers know about our brand, are trying to access our digital channels, but don’t know exactly what to expect from our digital experiences and find it difficult to detect a spoof. We were seeing more and more of those.” The key differentiator for Rose was BforeAI’s extensive partnership network including web hosts and registrars, DNS resolvers, and other internet security platforms. This established credibility and critical partnership significantly accelerated the takedown process from weeks to days.
PreCrime™ Brand is automated protection for your organization’s digital presence. Our predictive AI security solution continuously monitors the internet, using predictive intelligence to identify and disrupt malicious infrastructure before they do damage, automatically taking down online impersonation threats, and securing your brand from financial and reputational harm.
PreCrime™ Brand is automated protection for your organization’s digital presence. Our predictive AI security solution continuously monitors the internet, using predictive intelligence to identify and disrupt malicious infrastructure before they do damage, automatically taking down online impersonation threats, and securing your brand from financial and reputational harm.
“The move to a solution which enables rules-based, process-driven decision making in managing these issues is well suited to the way that our CISO’s operation works and enables much more scalability in our operating model. Now, Primark is now able to manage these attacks without having to dedicate as much time and effort to do so.”