14 Real-World Threat Intelligence Use Cases for the Finance Industry

The financial sector is constantly bombarded with cyber threats, ranging from insider fraud and phishing to ransomware, APTs, and cryptocurrency exploits. Financial institutions, with their high-value assets and extensive digital infrastructures, are prime targets for both opportunistic cybercriminals and state-sponsored threat actors. Traditional security tools cannot keep up with the speed and sophistication of these attacks.

This post discusses 14 real-world threat intelligence use cases for the finance industry, demonstrating how actionable insights from dark web forums, Telegram channels, and threat actor tracking can help institutions detect, understand, and mitigate risks more effectively. Each scenario depicts how attackers behave and how financial defenders can use intelligence to shift from reactive to proactive defense.

Why Threat Intelligence is Crucial for Financial Institutions

The threat landscape for financial organizations has become more dynamic and targeted than ever. In recent years cybersecurity researchers reported:

• A sharp rise in stealer log-driven fraud, with millions of exposed credentials linked to banks and investment platforms.
• Ransomware groups targeting financial service providers to pressure broader networks of fintech partners and vendors.
• A surge in business email compromise (BEC) and brand impersonation attacks, often enhanced by AI-generated content.
• Continued abuse of cryptocurrency platforms for laundering, flash loan exploits, and rug pull schemes.

These developments show that financial cyber threats are no longer isolated events – they’re part of coordinated, fast-moving ecosystems fueled by underground intelligence sharing and profit motives.

To keep up, institutions must embed threat intelligence across security operations, fraud prevention, compliance, and executive protection. The 14 use cases below demonstrate exactly how this can be achieved, based on real-world incidents and adversary tactics observed across the globe.

Curious if your company’s data has surfaced on dark web forums, leak sites, or Telegram channels? With SOCRadar Labs’ free Dark Web Report, you can find out. This comprehensive scan covers a range of underground sources to identify any mentions of your organization, employees, or sensitive assets—giving you early warning before criminals strike.

1. Credit Card Leakage & Fraud Detection

Cybercriminals often collect credit card data using sniffers or malware embedded in compromised point-of-sale systems. They then list this stolen data – often including card numbers, CVVs, billing addresses, and expiration dates – on dark web marketplaces or promote them via Telegram channels. Some actors bundle these cards by region or BIN for targeted fraud campaigns.

The finance sector remains a high-value target for cybercriminals looking to profit from stolen credit card data. One prominent case, flagged by SOCRadar’s Finance Industry Threat Landscape Report, involved a dark web actor offering 4,500 credit card records sourced via network sniffing at a single merchant over two months. This kind of underground sale – though not always tied to confirmed breaches – demonstrates how quickly payment data can be monetized in criminal forums and Telegram channels.

Dark web actor offering 4,500 credit card records for sale

Such exposures often go undetected until fraudulent transactions begin impacting customers. By then, institutions face both financial losses and reputational damage. The situation becomes more critical when stealer malware operations are involved, as seen in SOCRadar’s 2025 report, which recorded over 90,000 exposed credit cards tied to finance-related stealer logs.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Dark Web & Telegram Monitoring: Continuous scanning of marketplaces and closed channels helps identify newly leaked card data, often before it’s actively abused.
• Real-Time Alerts: Alerts tied to compromised BINs or issuer ranges allow banks to preemptively deactivate cards and notify affected customers.
• Fraud System Integration: By feeding threat intelligence into anti-fraud platforms, institutions can dynamically block suspicious transactions linked to leaked card data.

The key is speed – intercepting threats before stolen data turns into financial loss. With threat actors increasingly industrializing credit card theft, proactive intelligence is becoming a frontline defense strategy.

2. Account Takeover (ATO) Prevention

Account takeover (ATO) attacks continue to rise across the finance industry, driven by widespread credential leaks and stealer malware. According to SOCRadar’s report, stealer logs exposed over 2.89 million credential pairs in 2024, many of which targeted banking, payment, and investment platforms. These logs often surface on dark web marketplaces and Telegram channels, fueling a surge in automated login attempts and credential stuffing attacks.

Financial accounts become prime targets once credentials are harvested via infostealers or phishing campaigns. These credentials are compiled into stealer logs and sold or shared on cybercrime forums. Threat actors then use automated tools to test stolen logins across platforms, often launching large-scale credential stuffing or brute-force attacks.

According to the 2024 State of Cloud Account Takeover Attacks report by Abnormal Security, 67.4% of organizations identified account takeover attacks as their top concern – surpassing even ransomware and phishing. 

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring Underground Channels for Leaked Credentials: Tracking stealer logs and data dumps helps detect compromised user accounts before they’re exploited.
• Detecting Automated ATO Attempts: Intelligence on botnet activity, brute-force tools, and known attacker infrastructure enables early mitigation of credential stuffing attacks.
• Preemptive Customer Protection: When leaked credentials are identified, institutions can proactively issue password reset prompts, implement step-up authentication, or lock accounts until re-verification.

ATO prevention requires more than strong passwords – it depends on visibility into the underground economy where stolen data circulates. With finance platforms among the most targeted, integrating external threat intelligence into identity protection workflows is no longer optional – it’s essential.

3. Insider Threat Monitoring

Not all threats come from the outside. Some cybercriminals specifically seek out insiders – either by recruiting disgruntled employees or purchasing internal access on underground forums. In financial institutions, insiders may leak sensitive customer data, share login credentials, or plant backdoors. Threat actors advertise these opportunities in Telegram channels, breach forums, or dark web marketplaces, often with vague listings like “bank insider available” or “finance HR access for sale.”

In March 2024, Meta filed a lawsuit against its former vice president of infrastructure, Dipinder Singh Khurana, for allegedly stealing sensitive internal documents and sharing them with a competitor.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring forums and Telegram channels for insider recruitment posts or offers of internal access.
• Detecting attempts to sell financial records, account data, or privileged credentials linked to specific institutions.
• Generating real-time alerts that allow security teams to investigate suspicious employee behavior or secure exposed assets before damage occurs.

Verizon’s 2024 DBIR discovered that 35% of breaches now involve insider threats, demonstrating how both unintentional errors and malicious insiders contribute to risk exposure.

Breach factors (Source: Verizon DBIR 2024)

4. Executive Protection (CEO, CFO Doxxing Prevention)

Executives in the financial sector are increasingly targeted through doxxing – where threat actors expose personal details like phone numbers, home addresses, and even family member information. This data is often weaponized for phishing, blackmail, or impersonation. Threat actors typically compile this information through open-source research, credential leaks, and infostealer logs, then publish or sell it on dark web forums, Telegram groups, or doxx-specific marketplaces.

For example, threat actors have been observed offering “executive packages” containing LinkedIn profiles, work emails, private numbers, and partial financial data – primarily targeting CEOs, CFOs, and board members of financial institutions. These listings are often precursors to spear-phishing or extortion campaigns.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Actively monitoring underground platforms for mentions of named executives, their credentials, or personal identifiers.
• Detecting and enabling the takedown of doxxed information from black markets or paste sites.
• Tracking attacker behaviors and predicting phishing or extortion tactics, allowing for advanced defensive preparation and legal escalation.

Executive protection is no longer just a physical security concern. With reputations and strategic decision-makers at stake, financial institutions must treat digital doxxing as a serious cyber threat – and leverage threat intelligence to stay ahead of targeted attacks.

5. Brand Impersonation & Social Media Fraud

Cybercriminals frequently impersonate financial brands and executives across social media platforms and cloned websites to deceive customers and steal sensitive data. These fake profiles and fraudulent domains often mirror legitimate communication channels, luring victims into phishing scams, fraudulent investment offers, or malware downloads. With generative AI tools now enabling realistic deepfakes and synthetic voice cloning, impersonation attacks have grown more convincing – and more dangerous.

The banking and financial services sector has become the prime target in this space. As highlighted in BlackBerry’s Global Threat Intelligence Report, the expanding cyberattack surface driven by AI is “a very real threat to commercial enterprises of all sizes,” with identity-driven attacks threatening trust in executive communications and transaction verification processes. Fake announcements or altered voice messages can now disrupt operations, influence markets, or trigger internal security incidents.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Detecting impersonation attempts across social media, app stores, and domain registries using brand monitoring tools and AI-driven reconnaissance.
• Automating takedown requests for fake profiles, phishing domains, and fraudulent websites that mimic legitimate brands.
• Providing phishing intelligence feeds to security systems, enabling real-time blocking of malicious infrastructure targeting financial customers.

The stakes are rising fast. According to the report losses from impersonation fraud are projected to hit $40 billion by 2027, and regulations like the U.S. No AI Fraud Act signal a tightening grip on accountability. For financial organizations, preserving digital trust begins with monitoring how their brand and leaders are weaponized – and shutting down these threats before they go viral.

BlackBerry’s Global Threat Intelligence Report reveals that nearly half of all cyberattacks in Q3 2024 targeted the financial services sector

6. Third-Party Vendor Risk Evaluation

Threat actors increasingly exploit weak links in the supply chain to infiltrate financial institutions. By targeting third-party vendors – especially those with deep integration into banking platforms – they can gain indirect access to sensitive customer data. Once inside, ransomware groups often extract large datasets, affecting both the vendor and its partner ecosystem.

A powerful example is the LockBit ransomware attack on Evolve Bank & Trust, where the data of over 7.6 million individuals was stolen. Although Evolve acted quickly upon discovering the breach in May 2024, forensic analysis revealed that the intrusion had gone undetected for nearly four months. The impact rippled across major fintech partners like Wise and Affirm, underlining the fragility of vendor relationships in finance. Notably, the U.S. Federal Reserve had already flagged deficiencies in Evolve’s third-party risk management prior to the attack.

LockBit Ransomware threat actor card

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring dark web marketplaces and Telegram channels for breaches involving financial vendors or partners.
• Detecting leaked financial records or customer PII before mass exploitation.
• Providing vendor-specific risk assessments, helping institutions evaluate exposure levels and take action before threats escalate.

Ransomware attacks like the one on Evolve demonstrate that even well-integrated partners can become high-risk liabilities. Threat intelligence equips financial firms with the early signals they need to uncover hidden risks across their vendor landscape – and act before it’s too late.

7. Targeted Threat Intelligence (Sector-Specific Cyber Threats)

State-sponsored groups and financially motivated actors continue to target financial regulators and institutions with prolonged, highly tailored campaigns. These threat actors often exploit vendor vulnerabilities or leverage compromised administrative accounts to infiltrate systems unnoticed. Their primary objective is to access regulatory communications, financial oversight data, or institutional weaknesses that can be further exploited or monetized.

A notable example is the breach at the US Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Over a year, attackers gained unauthorized access to the OCC’s email system, compromising more than 150,000 emails and 103 executive mailboxes. These emails reportedly contained highly sensitive information about the financial health of federally regulated institutions, resulting in a significant intelligence loss. The attack was only discovered after Microsoft detected suspicious behavior, demonstrating how traditional perimeter defenses fail against persistent adversaries.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Tracking APT groups and nation-state actors known to target financial regulators, banks, and fintech firms.
• Analyzing attack trends, malware strains, and initial access techniques – including vendor abuse and lateral movement tactics.
• Delivering sector-specific threat intelligence reports to inform defensive strategies, update risk models, and support IT policy revisions.

Incidents like the OCC breach demonstrate why financial institutions must go beyond general threat feeds. Tailored intelligence – focused on their sector, infrastructure, and likely attackers – is critical for anticipating targeted campaigns and responding before sensitive data is compromised.

8. Zero-Day Exploit Targeting Online Banking Systems

Zero-day vulnerabilities represent one of the most dangerous tools in a threat actor’s arsenal – especially when targeting financial systems. Threat actors frequently hunt for unknown flaws in widely used banking platforms or third-party fintech software. These exploits are often sold in private circles or shared on dark web forums before vendors are even aware of them. The goal is to gain early, undetectable access to customer accounts, internal systems, or financial data repositories.

A recent example underscores this risk: In late 2024, the Western Alliance Bank (WAB) suffered a data breach that exposed the personal and financial information of nearly 22,000 customers. The breach was enabled by the exploitation of CVE-2024-50623, a zero-day vulnerability in Cleo’s managed file transfer software, used by a third-party vendor.

CVE-2024-50623 details via SOCRadar’s Vulnerability Intelligence

Although WAB patched the flaw as soon as it was disclosed, attackers had already infiltrated systems and exfiltrated data – including names, Social Security numbers, financial account details, and even passport numbers. The Clop ransomware gang claimed responsibility for the breach, highlighting how ransomware operators increasingly pivot to zero-day exploits to gain footholds in high-value financial targets.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Identifying early chatter about zero-day vulnerabilities related to core banking platforms, digital wallets, or fintech plugins across closed forums and Telegram groups.
• Alerting financial institutions to undisclosed exploits in popular technologies used across the sector, such as payment gateways or web-facing APIs.
• Enabling timely patching or workaround deployments by delivering exploit context, targeted modules, and TTPs (tactics, techniques, and procedures) observed in past exploitation waves.

Zero-day attacks don’t start with code – they start with conversation. Threat intelligence gives banks the advantage of anticipating attacks by monitoring where these conversations happen first. In a sector where even a single breach can lead to systemic disruption, that head start can make all the difference.

9. Regulatory Compliance & Fraud Monitoring

Cybercriminals frequently exploit financial platforms not only to steal but also to launder illicit funds. These activities are often coordinated across dark web markets and Telegram channels, where actors exchange money mule recruitment tactics, discuss bypassing KYC procedures, or offer “cleaning” services using cryptocurrency. Some even advertise stolen banking credentials with verification levels suitable for laundering purposes.

SOCRadar’s report reveals that access trading and credential sales remain prominent in underground ecosystems, with over 12.65% of listings tied to network access – many of which are likely abused to facilitate financial fraud and bypass compliance controls.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring dark web discussions for money laundering schemes, mule networks, and fraud-as-a-service offerings relevant to AML teams.
• Detecting financial credentials or transactional data linked to sanctioned individuals or suspicious activity patterns.
• Supporting compliance teams with automated intelligence reporting aligned with AML regulations and financial fraud indicators.

By integrating dark web monitoring with internal fraud systems, financial institutions can enhance both regulatory readiness and real-time fraud prevention. Threat intelligence offers not just visibility into compliance gaps, but also the context to act decisively – before bad actors turn financial platforms into laundering pipelines.

10. Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) and DDoS Attack Monitoring

APT groups, often backed by nation-states, target financial institutions not just for financial gain but to conduct long-term espionage, disrupt operations, or gather strategic intelligence. Their methods involve stealthy infiltration, zero-day exploits, and backdoors that enable persistence for months or even years. These groups often operate in tandem with or parallel to politically motivated hacktivist or criminal factions that execute large-scale DDoS attacks to destabilize systems.

A high-profile example in 2024 was Salt Typhoon, a Chinese APT linked to the Ministry of State Security. The group infiltrated major U.S. telecom providers, including AT&T and T-Mobile, and reportedly gained access to court-authorized wiretap systems – a breach that U.S. officials called “the worst telecom hack in U.S. history.” The implications were severe: millions of contacts were potentially exposed, and sensitive communications were monitored or manipulated. Although the incident targeted telecoms, the techniques and infrastructure overlap significantly with those used in attacks on financial networks.

Salt Typhoon threat actor card

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Tracking known APT groups like Lazarus, APT29, and Salt Typhoon, including their evolving TTPs and targeting patterns.
• Providing geopolitical threat assessments that signal rising risks to financial institutions during regional conflict or global tension.
• Analyzing DDoS tactics and supporting proactive defense planning, such as traffic shaping, rate limiting, and geo-IP blocking to ensure service continuity.

Financial organizations must understand that today’s cyber threat actors don’t operate in isolation – they’re embedded in geopolitical power struggles. With visibility into APT operations and coordinated DDoS campaigns, threat intelligence enables defenders to move from reaction to readiness.

Distribution of Ransomware Attacks by Country in Financial Organizations reflecting the global footprint of APTs (SOCRadar’s Finance Industry Threat Landscape Report)

11. ATM & Payment System Malware Monitoring

Cybercriminals have increasingly moved beyond physical ATM tampering to digital attacks using mobile malware and advanced relay techniques. One notable case was uncovered by ESET researchers between November 2023 and March 2024, involving a threat group that deployed a custom Android malware strain called NGate to target customers of Czech banks.

The attackers tricked victims into downloading a fake banking app via phishing texts. Once installed, NGate prompted users to enable NFC and place their payment cards on the back of their phone. The malware then relayed NFC data from physical cards to attacker-controlled devices using a technique never previously seen in Android malware. This allowed cybercriminals to conduct fraudulent ATM transactions or transfer funds directly if the relay failed.

The group ceased activity in March 2024, reportedly after a key member was arrested. However, the technique demonstrated a dangerous leap in mobile payment fraud capabilities.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring cybercrime forums and malware repositories for new ATM and mobile payment malware targeting financial customers.
• Conducting deep technical analysis of evolving threats, including mobile-based relay attacks and ATM malware designed to bypass transaction limits or card verification.
• Supplying fraud teams and financial crime units with early warnings, IoCs, and behavioral insights to mitigate losses and guide response strategies.

As mobile banking becomes the norm, institutions must remain vigilant against malware that bridges the gap between smartphones and physical payment infrastructure. Threat intelligence enables them to track, analyze, and neutralize payment malware threats before they scale globally.

12. Ransomware & Data Extortion Prevention

Ransomware groups have evolved beyond basic encryption. Many now specialize in data extortion, threatening to publish or sell stolen information unless demands are met. Financial institutions are especially vulnerable due to the value of customer records, transactional data, and regulatory exposure. Threat actors often gain access through third-party service providers or internal weaknesses, using that foothold to exfiltrate data before negotiations begin.

One major example was the 2024 IRLeaks attack on Iran’s banking sector. The group infiltrated up to 20 banks by breaching a financial services provider, Tosan. Hackers extracted vast troves of customer account and credit card data and initially demanded $10 million in cryptocurrency, eventually settling for at least $3 million. The incident caused national cash machine outages, public panic, and political fallout – but was never formally acknowledged by Iranian authorities, likely to avoid triggering a crisis of confidence in an already strained economy.

Central Bank of Iran logo

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring ransomware groups and extortion campaigns to track emerging targets, tactics, and affiliate behavior.
• Detecting leaked financial institution data across dark web forums, leak sites, and extortion pages to identify compromise early.
• Providing attacker profiling and negotiation intelligence, helping institutions understand motives, negotiation histories, and potential leverage to mitigate ransom outcomes.

With ransomware actors increasingly blending extortion with long-term reputational sabotage, financial institutions need real-time visibility into threat actor behavior, underground leaks, and ransom negotiations. Threat intelligence transforms ransomware from a surprise into a solvable scenario – before attackers hold the upper hand.

13. Business Email Compromise (BEC) Fraud Detection

BEC attacks exploit trust and urgency. Threat actors gather company hierarchy data from public sources and craft emails that impersonate executives, finance staff, or vendors. These messages typically request urgent fund transfers, invoice updates, or sensitive data. In some cases, attackers hijack legitimate email accounts, while others rely on lookalike domains and social engineering to deceive victims.

One of the most alarming incidents occurred when attackers compromised an email tied to the Puerto Rico Retirement System. Impersonating the agency, they convinced multiple government departments – including the Department of Industry and Development and the Tourism Company – to transfer millions of dollars to fraudulent accounts. This demonstrates how even government entities fall prey to carefully crafted BEC schemes.

Top Reported Crime Losses in 2024, highlighting the impact of Business Email Compromise schemes, which cost financial institutions over $2.7 billion in 2024 (FBI IC3 Annual Report 2024)

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Monitoring dark web forums and breach datasets for executive credentials and employee login leaks.
• Detecting lookalike domains, fraudulent sender addresses, and fake MX record registrations used in impersonation campaigns.
• Analyzing spoofing patterns and phishing tactics to provide contextual alerts and block malicious emails targeting financial operations.

BEC attacks don’t rely on malware – they rely on manipulation. By combining breach intelligence with domain monitoring, organizations can identify attackers’ infrastructure before a spoofed email reaches the inbox. Threat intelligence equips financial institutions with the awareness and foresight to detect and prevent BEC fraud in real time.

14. Cryptocurrency Fraud & Money Laundering Detection

The decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies makes them a prime target for fraud, scams, and laundering schemes. Threat actors commonly use phishing kits, fake wallets, rug pull scams, and flash loan exploits to steal digital assets, which are then obfuscated through mixers, privacy coins, or layering tactics across exchanges. Dark web forums and Telegram channels play a central role in this ecosystem, enabling threat actors to advertise drainer services, share vulnerabilities, and crowdsource funding for illicit projects.

One stark example is the July 2024 WazirX breach, where attackers stole $230 million in assets by exploiting a multi-signature wallet linked to external custody infrastructure. Funds were rapidly converted to Ether via decentralized platforms, making traceability and recovery difficult. In a separate case, SOCRadar uncovered a recruitment post for a $50 million rug pull scheme, targeting six blockchain networks and offering profits of $250,000 per fake project.

Threat Intelligence Application:

• Tracking illicit wallet activity through on-chain analysis and links to known fraud incidents.
• Monitoring Telegram, Reddit, and dark web forums for scam advertisements, wallet addresses, and laundering tactics.
• Issuing alerts on fraudulent wallets, phishing kits, and emerging exploit tools targeting NFT and crypto platforms.

As crypto adoption grows, so does the sophistication of fraud. Threat intelligence gives financial institutions and crypto platforms the visibility to intercept threats at the source – before funds vanish into the blockchain fog. Proactive monitoring, takedown coordination, and fraud attribution are no longer optional – they’re essential.

Stay Ahead of Hidden Financial Threats with SOCRadar’s Advanced Dark Web Monitoring

The 14 use cases you’ve explored highlight how threat intelligence empowers financial institutions to detect and respond to emerging cyber risks. But proactive defense requires more than just monitoring – it demands comprehensive visibility into the dark web’s hidden corners.

SOCRadar’s Advanced Dark Web Monitoring delivers that visibility, combining real-time alerts with contextual intelligence to protect your financial operations and sensitive data:

• Comprehensive Monitoring: Track stealer logs, stolen credit cards, and underground chatter on dark web forums, Telegram, Discord, and black markets.
• Fraud & VIP Protection: Get instant alerts if your executives’ or customers’ personal data is exposed or targeted.
• Dark Web Search Engine: Search for keywords, IPs, emails, domains, and more—your high-tech radar for threat hunting.
• Industry & Country-Specific Insights: Tailor your monitoring to the unique risks facing the financial sector in your region.

Whether it’s insider abuse, BEC fraud, or data extortion campaigns, SOCRadar’s Advanced Dark Web Monitoring acts as your digital periscope – spotting threats before they breach your perimeter.

SOCRadar’s Advanced Dark Web Monitoring

Conclusion

Modern financial institutions cannot continue to rely solely on perimeter defenses or reactive incident response. These 14 use cases demonstrate how cyber threats in the finance industry are becoming more targeted, persistent, and multifaceted, ranging from brand impersonation and vendor compromise to executive doxxing and zero-day exploitation.

Threat intelligence helps financial institutions stay ahead by providing contextual, timely, and targeted insights. Whether it’s identifying leaked credentials, monitoring ransomware groups, or tracking crypto laundering schemes, intelligence allows defenders to understand adversaries’ tools and intentions before an incident escalates.

Incorporating threat intelligence into daily security workflows enables financial institutions to mitigate risk, maintain customer trust, and adapt to an increasingly complex threat landscape. Threat intelligence is a must-have for any organization that handles sensitive financial data.