Article Archive - Card Fraud
Credit Card Trafficker Cuffed After Nine-Month Manhunt
August 2010
The Register Reports a Russian accused of being one of the “most prolific” sellers of stolen credit-card data has been arrested in France, following a nine-month manhunt. Vladislav Anatolievich Horohorin, 27, was taken into custody in Nice, France, as he was attempting to board a flight bound for Moscow, federal prosecutors in Washington said. He is being detained by French authorities, pending extradition to the US. A founder of CarderPlanet — a notorious clearinghouse for credit-card fraudsters — Horohorin belongs to one of the world's most sought-after online crime networks, authorities said.
Fight Against Payments Fraud: The Target is Moving, But Not Everybody Takes Aim
August 2010
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta notes industry statistics show payments fraud continually evolves, which is a likely reason it will never disappear. Even so, industry statistics also show some institutions prefer incurring costs associated with fraud rather than paying the price for preventive measures. Nothing drives those points home like drilling into the numbers. Credit card and debit card fraud were both up from 2008 to 2009, but not nearly as much as “Computer Intrusion.”
Six Indicted in Colorado on Bank Fraud Charges
July 2010
The Denver Post reports a national bank fraud ring, originally based in California, has been broken up in Colorado after a state grand jury indicted six of the members. According to the indictment, the six individuals scammed thousands of dollars from banks and businesses in the state. The indictment alleges that the ring made fake credit cards and obtained a 1-800 number, which was printed on the back of the card. When cashiers at the bank or sales people at the stores were unable to authenticate the fake credit cards, they would call the 800 number, which rang to other members of the ring. Ring members answering the phones would convince bank and store employees that the cards were legitimate, thus allowing for purchases and cash advances.
CitiBank ATM’s at 7-Eleven Stores in the Middle of a Scam
July 2010
Fraud and Scam News reports that a case in a District Court in New York revealed a hack perpetrated on CitiBank ATM’s installed in 7-Eleven Stores across the US. Prosecutors have opened a case against three people, Yuriy Rakushchynets, Ivan Biltse and Angelina Kitaeva for allegedly breaking into back-end processing systems of Citibank’s ATM setup and stealing approximately $2 Million dollars using stolen PIN numbers.
Financial literacy for Gen Y: Beyond Teaching the Basics of How Alerts Can Help Combat Fraud
July 2010
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta finds that Gen Y has often lagged behind preceding generations in financial literacy skills. Poor financial literacy skills create greater exposure to fraud and identity theft. And financial education—especially about fraud—is news that Gen Y can use. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, young consumers are particularly interested in knowing how to combat fraud. On this topic, experience has been the teacher for many in Gen Y. For example, a recent Javelin survey shows that Gen Y consumers had a higher incidence of debit card fraud than any other group.
Fraud a Risk in Frequent Debit Transactions
July 2010
The Tacoma News Tribune contends that while Congress debates the appropriate level of swipe fees banks can assess retailers for debit card transactions, consumers should be more immediately concerned with the risks that can come with using such a card. Chief among them is fraud — somebody swiping your dough with a swipe of your card. Visa and MasterCard have zero-liability policies to protect debit card holders who promptly report fraud, but under federal law you could lose up to $500 if you don’t make a report within two business days of discovering the problem.
The Retail Quagmire of Virtual Goods Fraud
June 2010
Frank Hayes at StoreFrontBackTalk.com discusses the question, “How should retailers deal with virtual goods when it comes to fraud?” When the product is music, video, gift cards, news stories, applications or anything else lacking a box that can be signed for, the issue of proving the item’s delivery becomes much more treacherous. And that’s a vulnerability some fraudsters are not shy about trying to exploit.
How to Avoid Hiring Fraudsters
June 2010
Bank Info Security outlines six tips to help screen the crooks before you give them the keys. Better to catch the fraudsters before they get in the door than to chase them down after they've committed their crimes and run away. Jose Granado, is the leader for Ernst & Young's information security practice for the Americas. He finds three common fraudulent behaviors specific to security professionals:
- Misusing access to retrieve company's critical information and/or to view restricted information like pornographic material;
- Engaging with co-employees on a side online business and deleting logs, activities and at times deliberately failing to monitor required systems;
- Overstating security credentials and experience.
Reduce Ecommerce Fraud: 5 Areas for Marketers and Fraud Teams to Target
June 2010
Adam T. Sutton at MarketingSherpa.com contends e-commerce fraud is an industry affliction -- treatable but not curable. Crooks make purchases with stolen credit cards, avoid detection and leave merchants on the hook for the cost of the items and fees incurred. Trends are moving in the right direction. American and Canadian online merchants reported an estimated 1.2% of revenue was lost to online fraud last year, totaling $3.3 billion, according to CyberSource’s 2010 Fraud Report. That’s down from 1.4% of revenue for the three years prior.
$117k Charged on Stolen Cheesecake Factory Diners' Credit Cards
May 2010
The Washington Examiner reports diners at a Washington location of the Cheesecake Factory lost $117,000 to servers and their co-conspirators who stole customer credit card numbers, the U.S. Secret Service said in court documents.
Nicole Ward, a former employee of the Cheesecake Factory at 5345 Wisconsin Ave. NW, has been accused of recruiting two servers to help skim the diners' credit card numbers for a fraud ring. Ward was arrested on bank fraud charges last week. The scheme started in June 2008 and ran through May 2009, according to court documents filed in Alexandria's federal court.
Wells Fargo, Visa Rollout Rapid Alerts for Credit Cardholders
May 2010
Payment News reports that Wells Fargo and Visa have announced the rollout of Rapid Alerts for Wells Fargo Visa credit cardholders enabling consumers to better manage and track their spending while providing them with near real-time detection of potentially fraudulent activity. Rapid Alerts by Wells Fargo are enabled by Visa's transaction alerts platform.
Under Attack! Threats to Deposit Accounts: an Interview with FICO Fraud Solutions
May 2010
PaymentViews’s Jacqueline Chilton interviewed Mike Urban, FICO Senior Director of Fraud Solutions, about how criminals are enhancing their margins in ATM and debit card fraud. The trend towards ATM compromises is largely a result of increased point of sale security. Criminals move to the weaker link, or the easiest approach, and ATMs are accessible 24/7 with no one to confront the person doing the tampering. Criminals are focusing their efforts on compromising PINs and debit cards to increase their profit margins in card fraud.
CyberSource 11th Annual Online Fraud Report
May 2010
The 2010 edition of CyberSource's Online Fraud Report is based on an independent survey of hundreds of online merchants. According to CyberSource, most companies reported improved metrics in 2009, but see the challenge increasing due to “cleaner” fraud. In the report, 60% say enhancing automated detection will be primary focus in 2010.
Is Debit Card Fraud a More Significant Problem Than Check Fraud?
April 2010
Shirley Inscoe at Bank Fraud Forum writes that according to the 2009 ABA Deposit Account Fraud Survey Report, debit card losses totaled $788 million in 2008, compared to $1.024 billion lost to check fraud. On the surface, check fraud is clearly a larger problem. Surprisingly, however, more banks reported experiencing debit card fraud losses than check fraud losses. While 92% of survey participants reported experiencing debit card fraud, only 80% of banks reported experiencing check fraud losses.
New Jersey Jury Convicts Two in Debit Scheme
February 2010
The Wall Street Journal reports that a federal jury in New Jersey has convicted two Florida men in a scheme to defraud banks and their account holders of millions of dollars through unauthorized debits of customers' accounts. Prosecutors say the defendants pretended to operate a telemarketing business, using it as a front to try to withdraw funds from more than 100,000 bank accounts they were able to access through other conspirators.
Man Sentenced in Credit Card Scam Orchestrated Behind Prison Bars
January 2010
The Los Angeles Times reports that a man pleaded guilty to orchestrating a bank fraud scheme from behind bars in a California state prison and was sentenced today to eight years in federal custody. Morocco Curry, 37, also known as Monica Dupree, was serving a three-year sentence at Centinela prison in Imperial after pleading guilty to bank fraud and identity theft charges in state court. While doing his time at Centinela, Curry obtained credit card numbers and other information on at least four victims, prosecutors said. Curry then made three-way telephone calls to conspirators outside the prison, and they contacted credit card issuers and asked them to send replacement credit cards. Credit card companies lost more than $139,000 from the scheme, according to prosecutors.
Four Indicted in Courthouse Credit Card Scam
January 2010
KOMO TV in Seattle reports A federal grand jury has indicted four people accused of paying insiders at a courthouse and a local fast-food joint to steal dozens of victims' debit or credit card numbers, then fraudulently using the information to purchase hundreds of thousand dollars' worth of gift cards.
Fallston Man Sentenced in Three-Year Fraud Scheme Using Dead Neighbor’s Identity
January 2010
The Baltimore office of the FBI issued a press release stating U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Jerome Anthony Malecki, age 56, of Fallston, Maryland, today to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by six months of home confinement and $140,729 restitution for conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Velocity Credit Card Hacks
October 2009
Rick Wilson at Practical eCommerce says a Velocity Hack is when someone with stolen credit cards decides to use your online storefront to test multiple cards to see if they're good, and can therefore resell them on the black market or use them for fraudulent purchases elsewhere.
Canada: Chip-Enabled Merchants Experience Fewer Chargebacks
November 2009
PaymentsNews reports on new findings announced by Moneris Solutions, Canada's largest payment processor, that reveal "merchants who process chip card transactions are experiencing fewer chargebacks than ever before due to increased security and fraud detection. This is the first data of its kind from Canada and demonstrates that chip cards reduce fraud and chargebacks."
AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey
October 2009
Since 2005, the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) has examined the nature and frequency of fraudulent attacks on business-to-business payments as well as the industry fraud-risk tools that organizations use to control payments fraud. The results of the 2009 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey show that payments fraud is rampant: a majority of organizations experienced attempted or actual payments fraud in 2008.
Card Losses in Major European Markets
October 2009
Author and consultant, Peter Lynch compares card fraud losses and types in the Spanish, French, British and Dutch markets and suggests that fraud losses are being contained as a proportion of card sales. Nevertheless, he contends there is no room for complacency.
US Consumers Want Alerts by Cell Phone re: Fraudulent Transactions
October 2009
PaymentsNews reports on a survey conducted by Adeptra that found "the majority of US consumers want their credit card issuer to call them on their cell phones to alert them of possible suspicious transactions. When asked if they had more faith in their card issuers' abilities to prevent fraud or resolve fraud should it happen to them, consumers favored slightly towards the ability to prevent fraud, with 6% stating they had a greater confidence in fraud prevention over fraud resolution."
Man Pleads Guilty in Wal-Mart Card Phishing Scheme
September 2009
PC World reports a Sacramento, California, man has pleaded guilty to charges for his role in an international scam that netted sensitive information on tens of thousands of Internet users and then used that data to open fraudulent Wal-Mart credit cards.
One in Five Hit by Card Fraud in Past Five Years: ACI Worldwide Survey
July 2009
ACI Worldwide, Inc. announced that its global card fraud survey revealed that 18 per cent of consumers questioned have been victims of credit or debit card fraud in the past five years. The research, of more than 2,400 consumers across eight countries, also found that if an individual or someone they knew was hit by card fraud, 22 per cent would change financial institutions, and a further 27 per cent would consider changing financial institutions.
Fraud: the Enemy Within?
April 2009
Cards International reports that as recession bites, card issuers and players are experiencing a surge in first-party credit card fraud and ATM and debit fraud. A range of recent studies gives varying reasons for the upsurge, from individuals purposefully defrauding card issuers, to mass compromised card data. CI also notes US payment consultancy TowerGroup predicts that US branded total card credit losses will peak at $55.6 billion in 2009 because the recessionary economic conditions are making it difficult for consumers to repay credit card debt.
Assessing the Landscape of Payments Fraud
July 2009
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago released a Letter that assesses the landscape of payments fraud: “As payments shift away from paper-based forms toward electronic instruments, consumers face an increasing array of payments options that entail different fraud risks.”
