Financial Crime & Fraud


U.S. EMV Hits Milestone: 1 Billion Visa Chip Transactions in March

U.S. EMV use has hit a milestone. Visa said that for the first time, the number of Visa chip card transactions topped 1 billion last month, a 330 percent increase from March 2016. The announcement comes as the payment network reported a 42 percent overall increase in processed transactions in its 2017 fiscal second quarter.

Kid me not fraud with GoHenry digital deal

GoHenry, a UK-based digital banking solution to help young people manage their money, has appointed fraud prevention firm Featurespace to safeguard customers’ accounts. GoHenry was founded by a group of parents to help young people aged six to 18 “learn good money habits”. It is a subscription service, which offers a prepaid debit card and […]

SWIFT Strengthens Security with New Payment Controls

SWIFT has launched a real-time payment controls service to add to its customers’ existing fraud controls. The fraud and cybercrime prevention service permits its customers to screen their payment messages according to their own chosen parameters, “enabling them to immediately detect any unusual message flows before transmission,” according to an April 12 company announcement.

Swift calling time on cybercrime with new payment controls

Swift has unveiled a new real-time payment controls service to add to its customers’ existing fraud controls. The new fraud and cybercrime prevention service will enable its customers to screen their payment messages according to their own chosen parameters, “enabling them to immediately detect any unusual message flows before transmission”. Yawar Shah, chairman of Swift, […]

Are You Protected from Contact Center Fraud?

Payments companies are used to defending themselves against fraud from all sorts of angles, but they would do well to mind the phones. By 2020, 75 percent of omni-channel, customer-facing companies will face a targeted attack, with the contact center as the primary point of compromise, according to Gartner research.

Mastercard buys NuData Security for IoT spree

Mastercard will acquire Vancouver-based biometrics firm NuData Security as it looks to make something out of the internet of things (IoT). NuData provides online and mobile anti-fraud solutions using session and biometric indicators. Mastercard will integrate NuData to its suite of fraud management and security products. Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise risk and security for […]

A vaccination for financial crime

ransaction monitoring is emerging as one of the top priorities for banks and other financial institutions. Some now employ up to three per cent of their workforce to track financial crime. But, as leadership teams look to increase the effectiveness of their processes in the face of regulatory scrutiny and reduce costs, are there lessons to be learnt from health industry and its battle against infectious diseases?

Criminals turn their attention to online fraud in the US

Criminals have deepened their focus on U.S. online transactions since the country’s October 2015 EMV liability shift, with card-not-present fraud expected to hit $6.4 billion in 2018, according to a new report from the U.S. Payments Forum. The expected total would represent a 23 percent increase from fraud losses in 2017, and a 68 percent increase from 2016.

Wells Fargo Faces New Pressure from Top Democrat over Fake Accounts

The top Democrat on the U.S. House Financial Services Committee wants to interview executives from Wells Fargo over a scandal about fake accounts its employees set up for customers. Last year, the CFPB announced a $100 million fine against Wells Fargo for what the agency called “widespread unlawful sales practices.” The agency said the fine was the largest such penalty it has ever issued.

White paper: break filter bubbles in banking enterprise fraud management

Synthesise holistic wisdom from core systems and not just from channel silos. From depth of analysis, ease of configuration/implementation and cross-channel fraud detection to insider fraud detection and real-time high availability, a synchronised enterprise fraud risk management approach delivers five compelling advantages over a delivery channel silos only approach.

Verifone Investigates Breach that Targeted U.S. Merchants

Terminal maker Verifone says it’s investigating a breach that involved an attempt to get into its corporate network and targeted U.S. merchants. The company, which sells point-of-sale technology, says the Jan. 17 incident has not resulted in any misuse of data.

Cybersecurity: computers or humans – where does the threat lie?

Digitalisation plays a key role in the fight against payment fraud. Yet Commerzbank’s cybercrime specialists in cash services show that even in this technologically advanced environment, security threats persist. Companies must take steps to ensure that human beings – as well as computers – are protected against crime.

Global ATM Hacker Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison

The ringleader of three highly organized, global cyberattacks on ATMs resulting in $55 million in losses was sentenced Feb. 10 to eight years in prison and ordered to pay more than $55 million in restitution.

Trend Watch 2017: Payments Year in Review

Paybefore’s first-ever payments year-in-review report, sponsored by The Bancorp, is available now. Offering an in-depth look at key trends and the Top 10 payments stories from 2016 that will continue to shape the industry in 2017 and beyond, this must-have resource examines everything influencing the industry from the CFPB and Uber to Brexit and Trump and much more.

Cyren sounds siren over Bitcoin siphon scam

US-based internet security firm Cyren has discovered an outbreak of malware which is stealing passwords as well as Bitcoin from cryptocurrency wallets on PCs. Avi Turiel, director of threat research at Cyren, says in a blog post this “versatile” keylogger malware is being delivered as an attachment to phony bank transfer emails, which inform the […]

Money rolls

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Industry views: ushering in a New Year

To kick off 2017, we asked industry leaders to tell us what happened in 2016 that will most affect their businesses and where they will be investing in 2017 and why.

Inside job

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Blacklisted

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Top fintech stories this week – 21 October 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Bank of Ireland in major tech revamp EXCLUSIVE. Accenture and Capgemini working on Project Omega. Trouble in the R3 paradise? Thinking about time and money. Millions at risk from India ATM hack Debit cards in danger due to […]

Blockchain.info gets hacked

Bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain.info has been the victim of a hack attack on its DNS servers. It experienced an outage for several hours while under attack, and Peter Smith, the CEO and co-founder, says its internal systems “alerted our infrastructure team who immediately began to assess the attack” but it “became clear the attackers gained […]

Mala Fide Intentions

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 fraud prevention software) and the forces of evil (fraudsters). Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Swift admits attacks are “here to stay” – so what can banks do?

There’s a cultural misconception that security equals lockdown in the financial sector; disclosure runs counter to that perception. Banks are less inclined to share intimate details of attacks because they don’t want to damage market confidence and that makes cyber security a major challenge for the sector. Swift has recently sent a letter out to customers […]

Swift slow on strong security say execs

Current and former executives and managers of Swift, say for years the organisation suspected there were weak points in the way smaller banks used its messaging terminals – but did not address the issues, according to Reuters. In a lengthy investigation by Reuters, sources say that until February, “when hackers tried to steal nearly $1 […]

ACI Worldwide integrates Ethoca Alerts for payments gateway

ACI Worldwide will integrate Ethoca’s service, Ethoca Alerts, into its UP eCommerce Payments solution, making it available to payment service providers (PSPs) worldwide. The integration gives PSPs, acquirers, processors and their merchant customers a means to “bolster” their fraud defences with card issuer-confirmed fraud and customer dispute data. Keith Briscoe, chief marketing officer, Ethoca, says […]

Kyc.com and Dow Jones team up for compliance drive

Kyc.com is partnering with Dow Jones, Exiger and Regulatory DataCorp (RDC) to drive standardisation and compliance for Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. The alliance plans to deliver an end-to-end KYC process integrating compliance, onboarding, sanctions, screening, negative media searches and client risk assessment across regulatory regimes and multiple jurisdictions. Joel Lange, managing director of Dow […]

Oracle’s Micros POS network hacked

Oracle’s global network of 330,000 point-of-sale (POS) payment systems has been hacked by a Russian organised cybercrime group. The breach occurred on the network run by Micros Systems, which Oracle bought in 2014. The incident was first picked up by computer security expert Brian Krebs, who contacted Oracle for comment. The firm acknowledged it has […]

Interview: Rivi Varghese, CEO of CustomerXPs Software

Banking is going digital and instantaneous, which is great news for customers. But it is also a great headache for banks, as fraud is going that way too – the money can disappear into fraudsters’ virtual pockets with a blink of an eye, anytime, anywhere. At the same time, the real-time capabilities of new solutions […]

Top fintech stories this week – 1 July 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Brexit threat to UK jobs at Visa Should I stay or should I go? Swift hackers steal $10m from Ukraine bank Massive attack. New challenger bank readies for launch in UK Atten-shun! UK military personnel, veterans and their […]

No room for the weak says Swift CEO

You are the weakest link. Goodbye. Banks with inadequate cyber defences could find themselves booted off Swift’s payment network, warns Swift CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt. The threat from Leibbrandt follows a spate of hacks. Investigators are looking at more potential computer breaches following three attacks – a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh – the biggest […]

Experian unveils CrossCore platform for fraud and identity services

Experian, the information services company, has launched its CrossCore platform for fraud and identity services. CrossCore has “plug-and-play” capability and lets companies connect any new or existing tools and systems in one place, whether they are Experian, internal or third-party partner solutions. Steve Platt, global EVP, fraud and identity, Experian, says: “New fraud threats, updates […]

Top fintech stories this week – 27 May 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Swift hacks sees 12 more banks under attack A fast moving chain of events. High five for Apple Pay in Singapore Big banks onboard include OCBC and Standard Chartered. NYSE launches new trading tech platform, NYSE Pillar The […]

Swift hacks sees 12 more banks under attack

Investigators are looking at more potential computer breaches following the three hacking incidents on Swift’s payment network, according to Bloomberg. The three attacks comprised a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh – the biggest cyber heist in history; Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank stopping an attempted wire fraud; and Ecuador’s Banco del Austro losing around $9 […]

Swift strikes back over three hack attacks

Swift has unveiled a five-part plan to reinforce security across its network after three hacking incidents. The attacks comprised a $101 million cyber heist in Bangladesh; Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank stopping an attempted wire fraud; and Ecuador’s Banco del Austro losing around $9 million. At the 14th annual European Financial Services Conference in Brussels, Swift […]

Top fintech stories this week – 20 May 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Android Pay now in the UK; Australia and Singapore are next Coming to a country near you… possibly. Vietnam’s Tien Phong Bank stops attempted fraud through Swift system Stop! In the name of the law. Sydney Stock Exchange […]

NICE’s robotic automation solution gets the Italian jobs

Italy’s Banca Popolare di Sondrio and Helpline have implemented NICE’s Robotic Automation solutions for loan approvals and credit card fraud prevention. Banca Popolare di Sondrio, which has 350 branches across the country, decided to implement NICE Robotics to speed up its online loan and credit approvals process. As a result, NICE says average handle time […]

Swift warns of second new malware threat

Swift has warned its customers about a newly identified malware found at a “commercial bank”, which it has declined to identify. This latest development follows yesterday’s (12 May) news where Swift rejected the allegations made by Bangladesh Bank and Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officials about the first cyber fraud scandal in February. Details […]