Just as important as taking down the decorations, throwing out all the debris from opened gifts and getting the house back in order after the holiday activities, is that of scrutinizing your credit card statements. Why? To make sure that all the purchases on there were made by you and only you. The holiday season […]
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Hackers release 13,000 passwords and credit cards
A gang of internet hackers claiming an affiliation with shadowy anarchist group Anonymous is claiming it has leaked the details of more than 13,000 users of Playstation, Xbox and online stores including Amazon. The hackers posted a document online containing username and password combinations. They also added credit card numbers as well as expiry dates. […]
Security – part 2
Why Security Matters The best defences against fraud are useless if they are let down by your security processes. Physical Security Whilst you do not wish to make your work premises a forbidding, prison-like, fortress, it is important to have an appropriate level of security that protects your business from unwanted and potentially harmful attention. […]
Security – part 1
Why Security Matters The best defences against fraud are useless if they are let down by your security processes. Physical Security Whilst you do not wish to make your work premises a forbidding, prison-like, fortress, it is important to have an appropriate level of security that protects your business from unwanted and potentially harmful attention. […]
Reporting Fraud
Why You Should Report Fraud Reporting fraud and economic crime benefits you, benefits your industry, and benefits society by: · Reducing fraud and corruption · Protecting the public from future criminal conduct · Reducing the cost to society caused by fraud and corruption · Reducing the risk of a further attack on your business from […]
Investigating Internal Fraud
An Internal Fraud Occurs No matter how hard a company tries to minimise its fraud risk, at some point an internal fraud will occur. A fraud investigation can have serious consequences for a company, regardless of the final outcome. Staff morale can suffer and customers may be concerned enough to not enter into contracts or […]
Fraud and Money Laundering
What is the Difference Between Fraud and Money Laundering The preceding parts of this series have concentrated on fraud. But what exactly is fraud? The following is an overview of what fraud and money laundering are and should not be taken as a legal definition. Readers should refer to the CPS guidance on these subjects […]
Identity Fraud
Why secure your identity? Fraudsters generally hide behind another person’s identity to obtain anonymity and avoid detection. Identity Fraud enables criminals to carry out employment and payment fraud and many other scams safe from detection. Once someone has compromised your identity they can use your personal details to commit crime, smuggle people across borders, open […]
Data and Payment Security – part 2
In the last email we looked at security of personal data. This time we examine the issue of payment data security. The benefits of increasing the security around the collection of personally identifiable information goes beyond credit card fraud to include helping merchants win chargebacks due to friendly fraud. Why Secure your Data and Payment […]
Data and Payment Security – part 1
Why Secure your Data and Payment Information? Payment and personal details are the basic tools used by criminals to commit fraud. If you have unsecured payment systems or personal data and this is used for fraud then you could be liable. The most obvious reason for securing data and payment details is that unsecured data […]
Chargebacks and 3D Secure
What is a chargeback? A chargeback is where a customer has had money debited from their credit card which they dispute, if the dispute is upheld it results in a refund being made to the customer. Are chargebacks fraudulent bookings? Up to 65% of chargebacks are where a customer has reported an unauthorized use of […]
Debt collectors demanding £621
I am sending you an email I received from debt collector H&J Recovery Services, demanding £621 within seven days or there will be court action. It says its client is a firm called UK Mini Break, but this has got to be a scam as my husband and I have not even been on a […]
How to detect the most ingenious email scam
If you suspect your computer might have been hacked, there’s a giveaway sign. So the new year has come and gone. For some, 2014 will be fondly remembered. For others (the executives of Sony Inc, for example), it couldn’t end soon enough. Another group that will be heaving a sigh of relief will be the […]
Sony Pictures hacking
A month after hackers launched an attack on Sony Pictures, the fallout initially led the Hollywood studio to cancel the release of satirical comedy The Interview, which involves a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The entertainment company later allowed a theatrical and online release of the movie at Christmas, which took $15m […]
Top computer graduates are being lured into cybercrime
One threat emerges above all: the surge in cyber-related crime. Organised gangs are this generation’s most-talented computer programmers – and national police forces are struggling to keep up. Most cybercrime operations are based in eastern Europe, Mr Wainwright says. The Mr Bigs of the cybercrime world are likely to speak with a Russian accent, operate […]
In Cybercrime, What’s Old Is New Again
Like most cases, this one started with a frantic call from a restaurant owner. The panic and uncertainty bled through the phone. He had just been notified his business suffered a payment card data breach and his acquiring bank mandated he hire an investigator to determine what happened. The on-site setup was typical for a […]
Fraud Prevention Market worth $20.49 Billion by 2019
MarketsandMarkets expects the Fraud Detection and Prevention market to grow from $8.87 billion in 2014 to $20.49 billion by 2019. This represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.2% from 2014 to 2019. MarketsandMarkets expects North America to hold the largest market for Fraud Detection and Prevention, in terms of geographical regions and over […]
email sparks phishing scam fears
A train operator has apologised to victims of the Christmas rail chaos after emails requesting their bank details so they could be refunded were mistaken for a phishing scam. East Coast is set to pay back tens of thousands of pounds to passengers but in the latest embarrassment for the company, the email address it […]
Security in 2015
Let’s face it, 2014 was a terrible year for computer security, leaving everyone feeling a little more vulnerable. Hackers stole 56 million credit card numbers and 53 million email addresses from Home Depot between April and September. They took contact information for 76 million households and 7 million small businesses from JPMorgan’s vaults. And Target […]
Watch out for premium rate “personal numbers”
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) is raising awareness of the methods used by fraudsters to trick victims into calling apparent mobile phone numbers beginning with “070” which transpire to be premium rate numbers. “070” numbers featured in over 2,600 fraud reports received by Action Fraud over the past year. Known as ‘personal numbers’, they […]