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• Businesses are being sent billions of spam emails
• Of these emails, 427 million contained malicious content
• Phishing attacks are the primary attack vector

New research from HornetSecurity has shown that a third of all emails received by businesses this year were spam, amounting to over 20 billion over the course of the year. Of these, over 427 million contained malicious content (2.3%).

Unsurprisingly, phishing is top of the list of most prevalent cyberattacks in 2024, and was responsible for a third of all attacks. Malicious URLS came in a close second, making up 22.7%.

Malicious links often direct victims to fake login pages, enticing them to enter personal or even payment information. Although nearly every type of malicious file saw a decrease in comparison to 2023, HTML files (20.4%), PDFs (19.2%), and Archive files (17.6%) were still the top three vectors used.

Phishing is king

Cybercriminals have been using social engineering attacks for many years, but the evolution of AI tools has led to a significant rise in attacks in recent years, with some businesses receiving 36 phishing emails per day.

AI is not only making attacks more common, but also more sophisticated, with new tactics often able to bypass security measures, with Q2 of 2024 seeing a 52.2% increase in phishing attacks which passed secure email gateway detection.

“Last year, our prediction came to pass that phishing attacks would become more sophisticated, targeted and difficult to spot, due in large part to the proliferation of generative AI.” said Matt Aldridge, Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Cybersecurity.

“We predict that this trend will continue, as attackers continue to become better armed with AI-integrated solutions such as next-generation phishing kits. Ensuring that all bases are covered will need to be top of mind for SMB defenders. Getting the basics right has never been more critical.”

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• Mercedes can now paint unique patterns on the S-Class
• Demand for custom cars has led to an expansion of its Manufaktur Studio
• The plan is to roll out of the offering to Mercedes-AMG sports cars soon

Growing interest in highly personalized cars has resulted in Mercedes-Benz expanding its Manufaktur Studio in its ultra-modern Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, Germany – the same place that churns out S-Class limousines and the like.

Already hosting a number of specially-trained employees that go to town befitting vehicles with all manner of fancy interior textiles and the fabrication of bespoke features (think champagne fridges and leather headliners), it has expanded to cope with growing demand and has begun using some new advanced techniques to keep pace.

One of these innovations is what Mercedes called PixelPaint, which the company says is inspired by inkjet printers and applies high-quality paint directly onto the vehicle body with “incredible precision”.

Think beyond simple shades and start imagining patterns and unique paint designs applied to a vehicle by a machine and you are basically there.

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz) What is PixelPaint?

(Image credit: Mercedes)

Mercedes says its new PixelPaint technology is "inspired by the function on an inkjet printer" and can apply "high-quality paint directly onto the body of the vehicle with incredible precision". It can currently only be applied to the bonnet, but Mercedes says it's planning to expand it to the whole car.

The company’s AMG Project One, as well as Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series ‘P One Edition’ that was spawned from it, featured a unique paint job that included the famous three-pointed stars painstakingly applied to the bodywork by hand.

It is this sort of thing that PixelPaint is able to achieve, with one current example being a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class daubed with Maybach insignia all over the bonnet.

For now, the Manufaktur Studio can only deal with 20 cars per day and it will be offered to 2025 S-Class customers wanting to personalize their vehicles further. The idea is to expand the offering to Mercedes-AMG sports-car models, too.

Although the program still leans heavily on highly-skilled craftspeople, the recent revamping has also introduced a number of technological upgrades, including the use of AI to detect irregularities in leather hides, for example, as well as as driverless transport systems that deliver tools and materials to workers.

Analysis: Money doesn’t buy class… unless it’s an S-Class Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Mercedes)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

Currently, Mercedes says that the bonnet is the only location it can apply its PixelPaint method, although it does hope to expand this to include the rest of the car at a later date.

That means we may soon see S-Class and G-Class daubed in Louis Vuitton or Gucci branding, or even just a giant image of the owner’s face.

The company says the Manufaktur program is proving extremely popular and has already accounted for over 30% of vehicles sold in the top-end segment in the first half of 2024, with this number only due to increase.

We live in a time of hyper-individuality, where customers want a unique grille, paint and wheel combo in order to stand out from the crowd. While the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley have been offering this sort of thing for years, Mercedes-Benz is effectively bringing that level of customization at a reduced cost.

That said, the company hasn’t mentioned pricing. I guess if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

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• PUBG: Battlegrounds creator Brendan Greene has detailed three upcoming games
• The first to release will be Prologue: Go Wayback!
• All three will culminate in a final release, "Artemis"

PUBG: Battlegrounds creator Brendan Greene, also known by the pseudonym ‘PlayerUnknown’ has revealed the projects in the works at his studio PlayerUnknown Productions.

Three titles on the way, starting with the open-world survival title Prologue: Go Wayback!. On its new Steam store page, the game is described as a way to “test machine learning-driven terrain generation technology” that the studio has developed.

It is “a survival adventure set in the heart of the unknown” which sees the player “dropped into a vast, wild landscape, armed with little more than an old, weathered map and the tools necessary to stay alive”. Although a standalone title, the game is being positioned as one of “the building blocks for the studio's ultimate project, ‘Artemis’.”

According to the developer, Artemis will be a “massive multiplayer sandbox experience” that serves as the culmination of all the technologies developed in Prologue: Go Wayback! and the two subsequent titles. Prologue: Go Wayback! is being developed using Melba - an in-house game engine.

If you’re interested in seeing some of what the engine can achieve, PlayerUnknown Productions has released a PC tech demo that you can try now. Titled Preface: Undiscovered World, the demo lets you explore a fully traversible, earth-scale planet generated using real-time machine learning technology.

It sounds pretty impressive and, as a completely free release, there’s no real reason not to check it out if you have the time. Very little information has been revealed about the other two games on the way, though it seems safe to assume that they might be something along a similar vein to Prologue: Go Wayback!.

There's no word on an official release date for Prologue: Go Wayback! yet, or a list of confirmed platforms beyond PC.

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• The Pixel 6 series, Pixel 7 series, and Pixel Fold will all get two additional years of updates
• That brings them up to five years of Android updates in total
• That's still less than the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9

If you’re using a Pixel phone from a few years ago then we have some good news: Google has just quietly extended its support window for selected handsets.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the Google Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, Pixel 7a, Pixel Fold, Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and Pixel 6a will now all get five years of operating system updates.

Previously, these phones were only promised three years of operating system updates, along with five years of security updates, the latter of which isn’t changing.

So, this change means that you’ll probably get two more major Android versions than you might have expected with these phones, and Google also notes that new and upgraded features could arrive through Pixel Drops during these extra two years of updates.

This is great news, then, for anyone who likes to hang on to their phone for a while, though notably, it’s still less than you’ll get with the Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 lines, both of which are promised seven years of updates.

Android 17 and beyond

The Pixel Fold should get updated through to Android 18 (Image credit: Future)

Still, this should mean the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro will now get updates up to and including Android 17, whereas previously they would have already had their final major update with the Android 15 launch earlier this year.

The Pixel 6a will probably stop getting updates with the same Android release, but since it launched seven months later than the rest of the Pixel 6 line, it may yet get one more if Google deviates from its usual Android release timing, as it's doing with Android 16 at least.

The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro should keep being supported up to and including Android 18, so there’s still three years of life in those phones.

And the Pixel 7a and Pixel Fold landed around seven months after the Pixel 7, so depending on when Android 19 lands, there’s a chance they could get that, but it’s more likely that Android 18 will be the final update for these phones, too.

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Let there be light with 37% off this unique collaboration between Umbra and Nanoleaf.

• iOS 18.2 is expected to launch fully next week, December 9
• The Hearing Test feature is coming to the UK, and other countries
• Hearing Aid Mode only appears to be coming to the UAE this time

Apple has released the final release candidate for iOS 18.2, which means the much-awaited iPhone update is about to launch for everybody rather than just beta testers. The good news is that the useful Hearing Test feature, which helps you detect any suspected hearing loss, is coming to more countries – including the UK. However, the bad news is that this doesn't include the actual hearing aid mode in most of these countries – just the test.

According to Apple's release notes, the new hearing aid mode is indeed coming – but only to users in the UAE. While the update brings "support for the Hearing Test feature on AirPods Pro 2 in Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom" it's only bringing the hearing aid mode to the United Arab Emirates.

We tried the AirPods Pro 2's hearing aid mode, which is available to users in the US thanks to FDA approval, and it's a very impressive update. Hopefully it will come to more countries following respective regulatory approvals, but there's no clear schedule for that, so we have to stick with "hopefully" for now.

What to expect from iOS 18.2

I've been using the various iOS 18.2 betas for a while, and the headline features are all around Apple Intelligence. Or at least, they are if you have the iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro models, or the iPhone 15 Pro models. Other iPhones haven't been invited to the Apple Intelligence party.

What that means in practice is a mix of useful and, to me, useless features – these include the gimmicky AI image generator Image Playground, custom emoji generation, and the occasionally handy Clean Up option in the Photos app.

There's also ChatGPT support, summarisation of Mail and Messages notifications, Visual Intelligence to carry out an image search based on what your camera's pointing at, and the two-stage shutter mode for the iPhone 16's new camera button. The Music and TV apps get natural language search, and there are improvements to Find My too.

The release candidate is available now, and unless any earth-shattering bugs are discovered in it we'd expect to see the full release next week, most likely on Monday. It'll be launched alongside new updates for iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, visionOS and the HomePod software too.

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• More images of the incoming Google Pixel 9a have leaked
• The rear camera bar doesn't appear, suggesting a design shakeup
• Expect to see a launch sometime in 2025

In our Google Pixel 9 review we described Google's latest flagship as "a fantastic phone", and we may have been given an early glimpse at what Google's next handset is going to look like when it shows up sometime in 2025.

That handset is the Google Pixel 9a, and two pictures of what's being described as a "prototype" have been posted by @feni_book and @OnLeaks (via Android Authority) – though it's not immediately clear where these images have come from.

These real world photos closely match leaked renders we saw back in October and other images posted online in August. It seems Google is going to ditch the raised camera bar around the back of the phone, in favor of a flatter look.

Whether you like the raised camera bar or not, it is distinctly Pixel – so it's a little strange that Google would abandon the established design for something that's more ordinary and arguably less visually appealing.

Specs and pricing

Google Pixel 9a leaked. pic.twitter.com/XxP67PsY0DDecember 5, 2024

These new images don't tell us anything more about the Google Pixel 9a other than what it looks like, and that there'll be a single selfie camera on the front and a dual-camera setup around the back of the handset.

Based on a previous leak, we're expecting the phone to measure 154.7mm x 73.2mm x 8.9mm, which makes it slightly bigger and wider than the Google Pixel 8a. It may be that the screen will be a touch larger than the 6.1-inch one on its predecessor.

That's backed up by a separate leak that put the screen size of the Pixel 9a at 6.3 inches. The display will apparently jump from 60Hz to 120Hz in terms of refresh rate, while the same Tensor G4 from the Pixel 9 series is tipped to appear here too.

We might also have some color information too, with a few tweaks from the Pixel 8a that launched this year. As for pricing, the launch price of the Pixel 8a is expected to be matched next year: $499 / £499 / AU$849.

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• Sonos is expected to launch a streaming box in 2025
• The firm is definitely working with the Ventura streaming OS
• Sonos has yet to confirm or deny the streaming device's existence

Sonos has confirmed that it's working with The Trade Desk and its new Ventura smart TV operating system. But it's chosen its words carefully and hasn't actually confirmed that it's building a streaming box using it.

We've been following rumors that Sonos is working with The Trade Desk for a while. Sonos is believed to be working on a brand-new product category for the company, a video streaming device to compete with the Apple TV 4K, Roku Ultra or Fire TV Stick 4K and deliver the best streaming services. That product is expected to run the mysterious Ventura OS, of which no screenshots have yet been released.

What has Sonos said about the Ventura streaming TV OS?

In a press release from The Trade Desk, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence is quoted as saying "We are excited to explore the integration of premium audio and video with The Trade Desk and the Ventura OS.”

That doesn't necessarily mean "we're making a streamer"; it's possible that Sonos plans to support Ventura devices so they can send sound wirelessly to Sonos speakers, which is definitely an approach the company needs to consider, given that Samsung and LG TVs have built wireless sound streaming tech into their TVs, but that only works with their own soundbars.

But there have been so many leaks and rumours around the Sonos streamer that we wouldn't want to wager our own money and bet against it arriving in 2025. The industry insider site Lowpass, by Janko Roettgers, has been particularly tenacious in tracking this story: Roettgers has multiple well-connected sources who've been keeping him up to date with the latest developments.

As he reported in September, the Sonos TV streamer is believed to be a set-top box rather than a USB stick, with an OS is based on the Android open source project (which Ventura is), and has been in development "for multiple years".

The concern for some is that the Trade Desk is an ad company, not a TV company; that appears to be why Sonos chose it, because the firm already has partnerships in place with the streaming giants such as Netflix. That gives Sonos an important connection: without those streamers, a streaming box is DoA. And it's not as if other platform providers such as Google and Roku aren't in the ad business too.

There's still a lot we don't know about Ventura, and about Sonos's streaming plans. But the smart money is on a 2025 launch, a sub-$200 price tag and tight integration with Sonos's existing audio kit.

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• TfL shares its first-ever estimate of the cyberattack's cost
• It is around $38m, with a significant part going to external help
• Experts call upon tighter cooperation to protect critical infrastructure

To address the cyber attack Transport for London (TfL) suffered in September this year, the organization has had to spend around £30 million (roughly $38 million), it was confirmed.

This was the first time TfL tried to estimate the financial cost of the cyberattack, The Standard writes in its report, adding that more data will be available in the coming weeks.

In early September, the local government body responsible for managing the transportation system in Greater London reported suffering a cyber-incident, and a few weeks later, a teenager was arrested.

No insurance

A subsequent investigation determined that certain customer data was accessed and stolen, possibly including bank account numbers and sort codes.

A spokesperson to the organization was cited saying that it’s still too early to determine the full financial impact of the attack, since there are “a range of costs associated with managing and mitigating the cyber incident”, on which TfL has already spent around £5m. That, The Standard further clarifies, includes “external support” - third-party cybersecurity organizations that help respond and remedy the attack. “There are also costs associated with delays to some projects as well as costs that ensured we could keep London moving while we dealt with the incident.

TfL is still working on restoring its “back office”, it was said, and has recently started accepting applications for concessionary fares. To make matters worse, the organization was not insured against cyber-attacks since, as the publication cites, such risk is “borderline uninsurable”.

“Every single penny that we’ve needed to divert to responding to the cyber incident is a penny we cannot use for the benefit of customers and the benefit of improving services around London,” TfL chief finance officer Rachel McLean allegedly told the board.

“The £5m already spent has been funded out of TfL’s central contingency budget and we are doing everything we can to mitigate the impact and reduce the final cost.

“Due to their importance, safeguarding critical national infrastructure is vital to maintain order and prevent potential disasters caused by threats such as cyber-attacks,” commented Spencer Starkey, Executive VP of EMEA at cybersecurity pros SonicWall.

“Ensuring the cybersecurity of critical national infrastructure requires a comprehensive and ongoing effort. The ramifications of an attack and ensuing outage on CNI can be disastrous and it's important to place the utmost amount of time, money and efforts on securing them.”

Starkey called for “constant communication and cooperation,” as teamwork between private and public sectors, and imposing strict punishment, is the best way to protect critical infrastructure.

Via The Standard

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• A new benchmark for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus shows it using an Exynos 2500 chipset
• This is at odds with other recent leaks, which suggested only the Snapdragon 8 Elite would be used
• The scores achieved in this benchmark are lower than those for models using the Snapdragon 8 Elite

Just as it was starting to look like every Samsung Galaxy S25 model would use a Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset in all regions, we’re suddenly not so sure, as a new benchmark lists the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus as using an Exynos 2500 chipset.

Spotted by leaker @Jukanlosreve (via NotebookCheck), this Geekbench listing additionally mentions 12GB of RAM, and the phone here achieves a single-core result of 2,358 and a multi-core result of 8,211.

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus has average Geekbench scores of 2,125 and 6,571 for single and multi-core respectively. So, the results for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus are significantly higher, especially for multi-core, but they’re still not what we were hoping to see.

(Image credit: Geekbench)

You see, as we noted at the top of this article, most recent leaks had suggested that the entire Samsung Galaxy S25 series would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset exclusively, and benchmark results for that model are significantly higher; indeed, a recent Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus benchmark (with the 8 Elite chipset) saw the phone achieve a 3,160 single-core result and a 9,941 multi-core result.

So, we were hoping – and largely expecting – that the Samsung Galaxy S25 line would use the Snapdragon 8 Elite across the board, but this new benchmark suggests otherwise.

You could still get Snapdragon

There are a few things to note, mind you. First off, this new benchmark is for a European model, so for those of you in the US, it’s still very likely that Snapdragon will be used – indeed when Samsung does use different chipsets in different regions, the US typically still gets a Snapdragon model.

Secondly, just because this benchmark is popping up now it doesn’t mean it’s not an old prototype unit, with a chipset that Samsung has since decided against using. So, it’s still entirely possible that every Galaxy S25 model will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite.

And thirdly, even if a chipset split is planned, it’s likely – based both on leaks and past form – that Samsung will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite in all Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra models. So, if you buy the top phone, you’ll still probably be able to get the top chipset, wherever you are in the world.

That said, for those who don’t want or can’t afford the Galaxy S25 Ultra, this latest benchmark is a worrying sign.

We should find out for sure what chipset (or chipsets) the Samsung Galaxy S25 line will use soon, as these phones are tipped to land on January 22.

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• Prime Video has released a new poster for Invincible season 3
• The one-sheet spoils a significant storyline from the graphic novels
• The artwork was revealed ahead of Brazil Comic-Con Experience 2024, at which a new season 3 trailer is expected to be released

Invincible season 3 is only two months away, but Prime Video has already spoiled one of its most important storylines by way of a new poster.

Yesterday (December 5), one of the world's best streaming services revealed a new piece of artwork to promote Invincible's next season, which is due out in February 2025. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big deal, but this poster isn't a normal piece of marketing material. How so? Because it reveals who'll be the next person to betray Mark Grayson, aka the titular superhero.

Full spoilers immediately follow for Invincible season 3 and the comic books it's based on!

His time to shine. Invincible season 3 premieres February 6. pic.twitter.com/zvxIXcMGD8December 5, 2024

The poster confirms that Cecil Stedman, one of Mark's closest allies, albeit a duplicitous one, will be the next character to feel Mark's wrath. Indeed, it shows the human-Viltrumite hybrid holding up the bloodied Global Defense Agency's commander-in-chief by his neck while some ReAnimen close in on the pair.

Why is this significant? Because Cecil is responsible for the continued development of the ReAnimen. A creation of the villainous scientist D.A. Sinclair, these mechanical zombies possess superhuman abilities and, as a collective, can go toe-to-toe with superpowered beings by numerically overwhelming their foes. This was proven in the source material and Amazon's TV adaptation when Mark struggled to defeat Sinclair's ReAnimen as he tried to rescue William's boyfriend Rick, who had been kidnapped by Sinclair.

Clearly, Stedman saw value in having a seemingly unkillable army of robotic zombies at his disposal. A failsafe like this became all the more important after Omni-Man wrought destruction on the city of Chicago in Invincible's season 1 finale, too. Instead of imprisoning Sinclair for his crimes, then, Stedman hired the nefarious individual – without Mark's knowledge – to build him an army of ReAnimen, with the view to using them if, say, Mark followed in his father's footsteps.

We saw Sinclair working on the ReAnimen before season 1 ends, but neither he nor his creations appeared in Invincible season 2, so it's high time that the R-rated series revisited this key storyline, which will lead to a seemingly irreparable breakdown in Mark and Cecil's working relationship.

Where's the Invincible season 3 trailer, William?

An Invincible meme that never gets old, no matter how times I use it (Image credit: Amazon Studios)

With Invincible's third season set to arrive early next year, there's not much time left for an official trailer to drop. A teaser was released in mid-October, but it was nothing more than a humorous, Burger Mart-set video that largely poked fun at some of its predecessor's issues, including the fact that season 2 was split into two parts – a frustrating decision that its co-creator said "wasn't the original plan" for Invincible's sophomore outing.

When will an actual trailer for one of the best Prime Video shows' next season arrive, then? I'm convinced that one will finally debut tomorrow (December 7). Why am I so confident? Because Invincible's official X/Twitter account confirmed that we'll learn more about season 3 at the Brazil edition of Comic-Con Experience (CCXP) on that date. As I said, Invincible season 3 isn't too far away now, so it makes perfect sense for its first proper trailer to be unveiled before the end of the year. What better time to release it, then, than at the last big Comic-Con convention of 2024?

Need a refresher of what happened last season? Read my Invincible season 2 ending explained piece to remind yourself of where things left off. Alternatively, read more of our Invincible and Prime Video-related coverage below.

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Something big is happening in the world of Windows. Support for Windows 10 is ending in October 2025, and that means there’s never been a better time to upgrade to a Windows 11 PC from Currys for enhanced security, better productivity, and access to all the latest features!

The speed you need

Windows 11 delivers exceptional performance. That's because Windows 11 PCs come packing powerful processors, speedy storage, fast memory and silky-smooth displays to deliver an exceptional experience for work, play and studying alike.

Windows 11 is really fast, especially when it comes to using advanced AI features on the latest hardware: on Copilot+ PCs, Windows 11 is up to 5 times faster than the most popular five-year old Windows PCs. If you've had your current PC for a while you'll be amazed by how much faster a Copilot+ PC runs and how long the battery lasts.

(Image credit: Microsoft) Your clever companion

Copilot is your AI companion, accessible via the app or or by pressing the Copilot key on your new keyboard. Whether it's recommending a recipe, polishing your prose, turning your ideas into images or just providing answers, information or advice, Copilot makes your computer truly personal.

And AI isn't the only area where Windows 11 delivers the speed you need. It delivers much faster web browsing, enhanced response times in sleep mode and stacks of improvements under the hood to deliver the smoothest, speediest Windows experience yet.

Windows 11 can help you work and play more efficiently too thanks to new features such as Snap Layouts and Multiple Desktops, which make it easy to organise your apps and windows; voice control, for hands-free efficiency; touch and pen support for compatible computers for even more ways to get things done; and exceptionally powerful photo and video editing to help you make your masterpieces.

(Image credit: Microsoft) A new era for security

Windows 11 is the safest, most secure version of Windows yet. New Windows PCs are so packed with powerful security features that they experience 3x fewer firmware attacks and a reported 62% drop in security incidents.

That's because Windows 11 has been built with safety and security in mind, delivering features such as secure boot; passkeys, which are more secure than passwords and make it much harder for hackers; and Smart App Control, which automatically blocks untrusted or potentially dodgy apps. There's also built-in protection against phishing frauds and common cyber-attacks such as malicious software and attempts to compromise your logins.

These features work together to provide powerful PC protection without compromising your PC's performance or getting in your way. And they're teamed with powerful privacy protection options that give you complete control over what you share, with whom, and when.

It's easy PC

Moving from Windows 10 to Windows 11 couldn't be easier. The combination of Windows Backup and Quick Assist ensures that all your data, documents, photos and other essentials are carried across to your new Windows 11 PC so you're ready to go in no time.

(Image credit: Microsoft) Better for everyone

Windows 11 is the most inclusively designed and most accessible version of Windows yet. It comes with lots of important accessibility improvements designed for people with disabilities as well as calmer, more appealing sound schemes, gorgeous new high contrast themes and closed caption customisation. Windows 11 also delivers a more responsible and flexible experience for working with assistive technologies and devices.

Windows 11 isn't just great news for you. It's good news for the environment too. Microsoft is committed to achieving zero waste by 2023, and Windows PCs are playing their part in that goal. That means more energy efficient PCs, improved energy efficiency in Windows itself and innovative trade-in programmes.

When you trade in your existing PC, Currys will happily recycle it responsibly – even if you bought it from somewhere else. Currys is the UK's largest tech recycler, collecting, re-using and recycling an average of 60,000 tonnes of unwanted and out-of-date tech every single year.

The perfect PCs for every person

Whether you're looking for an ultra-portable for work or school, a creative powerhouse or an amazing gaming PC, Windows 11 PCs are the most powerful, most flexible and most useful Windows PCs ever made – and Currys is the perfect place to find yours thanks to their superb service and of course, their great selection of powerful PCs to suit every buyer and budget.

Click here to discover the incredible range of Windows 11 PCs at Currys.

In the fast-paced world of ecommerce, fraud is evolving at an alarming rate, meaning many companies struggle to stay ahead of online fraud and abuse.

This problem is never more acute than during retail peak season, as Black Friday approaches, followed by Christmas and the January sales. But the biggest threat for most merchants isn’t organized cybercrime—it’s their own customers.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen customer-led fraud growing rapidly. It’s now common for everyday shoppers to take advantage of generous return and refund policies, buy clothes to wear once and return, and make fake claims about not receiving items (or receiving them in an “unacceptable state”).

Worse still, some consumers are turning to fraud-as-a-service schemes, and particularly “refunds-as-a-service”, where criminal third parties use social engineering and falsified information to get a fraudulent refund for a customer. The customer gets to keep the item and still receive a refund, while the professional fraudster gets a cut of the profit.

For a growing number of consumers, committing these types of fraud has become normalized. They see it as a victimless crime.

Recent Ravelin research into customer fraud found that more than 40% of internet shoppers admit to committing fraud within the last 12 months. Moreover, one in three (36%) are considering committing fraud in the future. First-party fraud (fraud committed by the actual cardholder rather than a professional using stolen card details) is now the top risk factor for ecommerce finance leaders.

And the risks to merchants are considerable. GlobalData estimates that in 2022, UK shoppers returned over £4.1 billion in online clothing orders alone, with predictions that this will grow by 17% by 2027.

How can businesses fight back?

For enterprise companies facing this double threat of organized crime and customer-driven dishonesty, a dedicated fraud team is essential. But they are often stretched too thin. It’s clear that technology must integrate more deeply, giving fraud professionals the speed and precision to respond to increasingly complex fraud.

The best way to do this is to apply engineering principles and automation—primarily artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)—to the rising problem of ecommerce fraud. ML isn’t just an additional layer of protection. It can only be at the core of fraud defense, enabling businesses to block fraud before it happens, by constantly detecting and flagging patterns and anomalies that would otherwise go undetected, and providing recommendations.

Importantly, ML allows for robust fraud and abuse protection at scale. Instead of expecting humans to review each suspicious case manually, its recommendations allow for better decision making when faced with thousands of orders. Humans can thus make better decisions and automate protection from fraud and abuse.

Fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated, while legitimate customers are evermore demanding and quicker to complain or churn. Merchants need to bring intelligence and automation to fraud if they are to grow.

Growing numbers of merchants are adopting AI-based, real-time tools which detect and block fraud automatically. This enables online businesses to contain fraud risks while maintaining a frictionless experience for genuine customers.

From gathering historical transaction data to fine-tuning models and ongoing human evaluation, the process helps merchants recognize and understand behavioral patterns rather than simply flagging each fraudulent transaction in isolation.

This approach provides fraud leaders and their teams with granular analytics that allow them to usher good, loyal customers through to checkout - without adding undue friction to their customer experience.

Balancing fraud prevention and great customer experiences

Balancing fraud prevention and customer conversions is a priority for many companies. The most effective risk mitigation strategy isn’t just about blocking fraud but ensuring legitimate customers can make their purchases with ease. Attention spans are short and customer loyalty is never guaranteed, so a seamless purchasing experience is crucial.

Using whitebox ML models, which are fully transparent and explainable, means fraud teams can understand each flagged transaction in-depth, and that ML models are constantly improving. As a result, fraud teams can make better decisions, as well as adjust their fraud rules accordingly.

It also means fraud defenses can better spot and respond to new fraud attacks without direct human intervention. Thus, merchants can keep one step ahead of fraudsters without unnecessary friction in legitimate customers’ shopping journeys.

The future of fraud prevention

Ecommerce fraud will only continue to grow and diversify. Professional fraudsters will refine tactics to blend in as genuine customers, while opportunist customers will continue to take advantage of companies and share their methods with other consumers via social media, effectively “democratizing” fraud and abuse against companies.

This means that anti-fraud systems need to evolve rapidly, leveraging vast amounts of data and the benefits of AI to spot fraud and predict it before it happens. Constantly pushing technology to adapt to these shifts is paramount.

The coming years will bring greater integration of AI tools into customer service, payments, and delivery processes. Fraud detection needs to be increasingly embedded into every stage of the customer journey, helping brands catch fraud early and provide a seamless experience for honest customers.

This doesn’t mean asking every single customer to prove they are who they claim to be—quite the opposite. An ML-first approach rewards good customers with minimal friction, in addition to stopping fraud and abuse.

More importantly, it can help businesses take action against customer fraudsters who flagrantly break the rules. Many of our customers find that a simple warning message is all that’s needed to deter fraudsters before they become too troublesome. Others pursue tighter sanctions.

It is clear that growing businesses safely online depends on an automated, AI-first, predictive approach to fraud - whether committed by career criminals, or merchants’ own customers.

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