Credit-card fraudsters are everywhere these days, but when it comes to targeting victims, they have a special fondness for Americans. Nearly half of all the credit card fraud around the world occurs in the US, even though America accounts for only about a quarter of the global card volume, according to a new report from […]
Month: May 2015
Identity theft jumps by a third
The number of people falling victim to identity theft in the UK has risen by almost a third. There were 32,058 recorded victims of ID fraud in the first quarter of the year – up from 24,482 in the same period of 2014, according to fraud prevention service Cifas. ID fraud is when criminals abuse […]
Why Hacking Is Taking Place Even Aboard Flights
Hacking is becoming more commonplace, and your data is not safer 30,000 miles up on in the air. While surfing, shopping or sending emails aboard a flight is becoming more popular and is convenient as more airlines are adding Wi-Fi, your connection is just as insecure as hanging out in your local coffee shop. Here […]
Bogus hotel bookings
Bogus hotel bookings are an exploding scam – and the price tag this year may hit $220 million, for some 2.5 million bookings, according to a count by Maryam Cope, vice president for government affairs at trade group American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA). Some 400 participants from the hospitality industry lobbied on Capitol Hill […]
Boss of cruise ship renovator jailed for £1.7m VAT fraud
The boss of a firm which refurbished ships for some of the world’s largest cruise lines has been jailed for VAT and tax fraud. Christopher Rogers, from Southampton, stole more than £1.7 million of taxpayers’ money to prop up his failing businesses and maintain a lavish lifestyle. He was jailed for five and a half […]
Trading Standards warns of increase in scams
Trading Standards warns people to be vigilant as the number of scams, especially involving fortune tellers and bogus relationships, are rising. The Department of Enterprise estimates NI consumers are losing £100m a year to international fraudsters through postal, email, text and phone scams. Common frauds include bogus lottery wins, prize draws, career opportunities and advance […]
Outdated Fraud Detection
Why are retailers driving customers away in their bid to secure sensitive data? Online fraud prevention specialist, Tony Larks, investigates the flaws in today’s authentication solutions and sets out a new path for protecting valuable customer relationships Every day, in store and online, retailers lose business from loyal customers for one very simple reason: the […]
Fraudsters Stay Close to Home
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of UK online fraud attacks over the past two quarters came from within the country, bucking a trend for cyber-criminals to focus their efforts on victims in different jurisdictions, according to ThreatMetrix. The fraud prevention firm’s ThreatMetrix Cybercrime Report Q1 2015 draws on data generated by its Global Trust Intelligence Network, which […]
Hotel booking scams cost up to $220m per year
Hotel booking scams are on the rise partly because 1 in 3 vacations is set up online, with many hotel and airline reservations punched in on those tiny, hard-to-read smartphone screens. Now a hotel trade group is asking Congress and the U.S. attorney general’s office to take action on the problem, which may be bilking […]
Hard Rock Hotel warns of payment card hack
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, a 640-room hotel in Las Vegas, has warned payment cards may have been compromised over an eight-month period ending early last month. Law enforcement has been notified, and the attack has been stopped, according to a notice on its website. The company is notifying customers, and its notification letter […]
Ryanair has fallen victim to a $5m hacking scam
Budget airline Ryanair has fallen victim to a $5m hacking scam. Crooks siphoned off money from an account earmarked for the payment of fuel bills via an electronic transfer to a bank in China last week. The transfer was subsequently blocked, but the funds – earmarked to pay for aviation fuel for Ryanair’s 400-plus Boeing […]