Thursday, June 11, 2009

iTunes & Amazon Targeted in Credit Card Fraud Scheme

Amazon & iTunes Targeted in £470,000 Credit Card Fraud - ITProPortal.com

Amazon & iTunes Targeted in £470,000 Credit Card Fraud

A gang of nine have been arrested after they were accused of downloading their own tracks off Amazon and iTunes using stolen credit card details AND then claiming royalties on that.

The scam involved recording 19 song compilations, uploading them to the aforementioned online music stores at a cost of £18 each by using a New York-based online music store intermediary.

The lot then created up to 1500 iTunes and Amazon accounts using stolen US and UK credit card details before setting out on a massive spending spree that saw them spend nearly £470,000 on buying their own album.

Having purchased around 75,000 of their own albums, they also raked in significant royalties - which amounted to an estimated £400,000 - and the sales allowed them to rise rapidly in the charts. The con was only spotted when credit card companies became suspicious over the transactions.

The nine involved are all based in UK and are being held "on suspicion of conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering". Up to 60 officers have been involved in coordinated raids and were led by Scotland Yard's E-Crime Unit.

Continue Reading

PayPal Blog - Now Available on American Airlines & Emirates Airlines in UK

The PayPal Blog » Blog Archive » PayPal Now Available on American Airlines and Emirates Airlines in the UK

Hi everyone. I¹m Cameron McLean, PayPal¹s General Manager for UK Merchant Services. With the summer holidays fast approaching, many families are planning their summer getaways. While traveling abroad with the family inevitably requires some extra patience, booking your tickets in the first place shouldn¹t, which is why I¹m delighted that customers of American Airlines and Emirates Airlines in the UK can now speed through checkout as quickly as their cousins across the pond, by paying via PayPal.

Customers paying for Emirates or American Airlines flights through PayPal won¹t have to enter any financial or billing information, making booking flights faster and easier. What¹s more, UK residents will be able to pay for flights on www.emirates.com or www.aa.com using PayPal with the flexibility to fund their tickets via PayPal balance, along with local payment methods such as UK debit cards and local bank account funds, a move we expect to be really popular with American Airline¹s and Emirates customers.

Emirates joined PayPal following some interesting customer research on which alternative payments methods are likely to most appeal to customers in over 37 countries served by the site. We¹re delighted that, unsurprisingly, PayPal was at the top of their list!

PayPal

Paying for Paying with Plastic

We All Pay for the Privilege of Paying With Plastic

The Government Accountability Office has been ordered to study the use of credit by consumers, and in particular the effect interchange fees have on consumers and merchants.

Many people may not be aware of these fees, but for lenders, merchants and consumer advocates, the fees are the next controversial credit-related issue Congress may take up.

An interchange fee is paid by a merchant's bank to a customer's bank or credit union when the business accepts purchases by credit or debit cards. Typically the fees are 1 to 2 percent of the total cost of a purchase. For example, if a consumer buys $100 of merchandise or services, the interchange fee paid by the merchant could be $2.

This may not seem like a lot of money, but multiply that by the millions of people making electronic purchases and it's not chump change. Moreover, everybody pays, whether you use plastic or not, according to consumer advocates and retailers. The interchange fees result in higher prices for everyone, including those paying with cash.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that President Obama recently signed into law includes a provision to investigate the fees that businesses pay to allow their customers to use credit. The idea is to provide more transparency to consumers.

Demanding that credit card companies give more information about interchange fees would put them on par with food producers who are required to provide nutritional information on packaging. The nutritional details are meant to help people make healthier choices. And yet Americans are fatter than ever.

The same can be said about our appetite for credit.

Continue Reading at the Washington Post

Microsoft Money Shelved

Important notice: Microsoft Money Plus will not be available for purchase after June 30, 2009. All purchased Money Plus products must be activated prior to Jan. 31, 2011.

With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed. After suspending annual updates of Money Plus in 2008, Microsoft is announcing today that we will no longer offer Microsoft Money Plus for purchase after June 30, 2009.

We would like to thank the many dedicated users who have been enthusiastic supporters of Microsoft Money over the years, as well as our partner financial institutions who helped pioneer a digital vision of financial management.

Microsoft remains committed to helping customers chart a course to financial well-being. The MSN Money Web site will continue to provide personal finance information and advice plus comprehensive market news and quotes. We will continue to evolve and enhance the online MSN offering in the coming months.

Current Money Plus customers who have questions or concerns can find additional information here.

Additional Content


		MSN Money - Stay up to date with the latest market news, handy toolsand objective information from some of the Web’s leading financialcolumnists at http://www.msnmoney.com.

Doctors Operate Without Interchange Fees

Rising Fees Could Be Culprit As Fewer Doctors Accept Credit Cards

While credit card acceptance is making inroads in a slew of new markets like transit and parking, it turns out the plastic is losing ground among physicians.

Some 32.7% of doctors’ offices do not accept credit cards, up almost 4.5 percentage points from a year ago, according to a survey from SK&A Information Services Inc., a research firm specializing in health care.

Rising interchange rates may be to blame, according to Jack Schember, director of marketing for the Irvine, Calif.-based company, which surveyed physicians in April following its first survey in April of last year.

Continue Readinig at Digital Transaction News

Interchange, PIN Debit

Minnesota Calling Off Online Gambling Dogs? You Betcha!

Minnesota (Land of the Loons) Withdraws Planned Internet Gambling Blackout

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division has sent letters to 11 of the world’s largest internet service providers (ISPs) rescinding its notice to block 200 internet gambling websites.

In April, John Willems, Director of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (DAGED), served notice to 11 ISP’s calling for the blockage of 200 gambling sites to Minnesota residents.

These threats have been rescinded and no action will be taken to block internet gambling sites in the state.

The withdraw is down to the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA), who, shortly after the list of 200 sites was made public, filed a lawsuit against Willems and his actions. iMEGA charged that Minnesota did not have jurisdiction to act and the State’s actions represented a breach of the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution.

In response to The Gambling Enforcement Divisions wanted crackdown iMEGA outlined their stance in a letter to the ISPs themselves.

“Because website operators are not subscribers of yours, have no contracts with you, and are not provided facilities by you, you should be aware that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety is attempting to mislead you into believing you are bound by federal law.”

You Betcha!

The (P)assword Is: Oxymoron

Online transaction security: Tips for staying safe
By Alex Kidman on 09 June 2009

The online economy is massive, with billions of dollars changing hands every single day. Online shopping has brought consumers lower prices, incredibly diverse choice and an ease of buying that simply can't be matched in the physical world.

At the same time, however, it's not without its perils. Any time that much money is changing hands on a regular basis, there will be sharks circling trying to snap off a chunk of cash.

Consultants QPR recently released a report into credit card fraud in which they estimated the cost of "Card Not Present: fraud in Australia (which logically includes all internet-based transactions) was a problem worth $71,578,908 in 2008, a rise of 33 per cent over the previous year.

So, online buying presents challenges to keeping your money safe, but if you're smart, they're challenges that aren't too hard to overcome.

Online banking

Banks love online banking; it's cheaper for them to deliver than over-the-counter services, and the convenience of being able to check your balances, transfer funds and pay bills online make it a real winner for consumers as well. The Commonwealth bank, for example, is reported to have at least 2.6 million active online banking customers, with a take-up rate of 60,000 more each month.

In order to access your online banking, you typically need your account number and a password. Needless to say, it's a very bad idea indeed to write your password down somewhere that somebody might find it. That doesn't have to be the end of your banking security, however.

To access your account, you'll typically need an username or client number and a password Some banks extend their security with additional measures, which range from floating on-screen keyboards (which stop automatic attacks that rely on the position of the entry field being absolute) to the ability to have a secondary code automatically generated, either via a security dongle the bank supplies, (Question: If you hook up your dongle to your Blackberry would it be called a dongleberry?) or even by having the code sent via SMS to your mobile phone.

Picking a secure password (Editor's Note: Here's a suggestion for a secure password...Oxymoron! There is NO such thing as a secure password. Passwords have two functions. 1. They provide a false sense of security. 2. They provide jobs for people who email you your password when you forget it.

But when it comes to providing security never forget these eight words:If you type it...hackers can swipe it.

Editor's Note 2: I have a better idea. Lets Keep It Simple...how about taking out your bank issued card, swiping it and then entering your bank issued PIN? No card, No PIN, No access. Sealed with KISS.

Continue Reading at cnet Australia

More On ATM Malware from McAfee Blog

ATM Malware Makes Withdrawals in Russia
Francois Paget

Trackback

We frequently encounter password stealers and backdoors in computers after their owners have browsed unsafe websites or opened unknown email attachments. It is more unusual, however, to see these malware directly implemented in banks’ automated teller machines. In these cases, Trojans have to be installed by people who have physical access to the machines. Data collecting and malware removal would need yet another visit or visits. It should seem obvious that such malware installation requires a high level of “cooperation” from the bank staff.

One of the first attacks occurred in Russia more than one year ago. It was announced in January 2009 when Diebold Inc. released a security fix for its Opteva Windows-based ATMs. At that time, the company said some suspects were apprehended. But it seems the gang was not fully dismantled. In May, we heard of new suspicious files discovered in Eastern European ATM machines. The security firm Trustwave published a study concerning this matter. The software had been updated and new virtual robberies had been launched.

On June 3, The Register also raised public awareness by covering the story. When active, the Trojan intercepts transactions and records them on log files. To control an infected ATM, the attacker uses dedicated credit cards that allow him to activate some administrative rules. Via the ATM’s display, he can select various options from the keypad to display statistics (numbers of transactions, cards, keys), print collected data, force the machine to dispense all its cash, uninstall the malware set, and reboot the ATM.

Continue Reading

Spam with Eggs Maybe...Just Not with Mobile e-Mail

Japanese Mobile Moves Online

JUNE 11, 2009

E-mail is important, too.

For many years the mobile market in Japan has served the rest of the world as a model of the future of mobile development. If that holds true, expect more mobile users online.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, mobile Internet in Japan reached nearly 83% penetration among mobile phone users.

A total of 75.1 million users in Japan accessed the Internet via mobile phones in 2008.

One of the most popular mobile phone activities for young adults in Japan was e-mail, with 72% of users ages 8 to 24 reading and answering e-mails on the go.

Japan’s culture of connectivity pushed penetration far above the 13% average for Asia-Pacific, according to a Synovate study sponsored by Microsoft Advertising, MTV and Yahoo!. Marketers should be cautious about tapping into this tech-savvy demographic with tried-and-true e-mail marketing, however.

According to a survey by Point On Research, 86% of mobile phone users in Japan check their e-mail every day—but they are highly sensitive to spam. Mobile spam was seen as unsettling by more than 85% of respondents surveyed by goo Research.

The same survey found that 33% of those users received at least one piece of spam in their mobile e-mail each day.
Mobile marketing campaigns should take a more personal route. “The ability to stimulate user action will be the key to success in mobile advertising,” said Yeunsil Lee, an ROA Group analyst.

Just don’t “stimulate” them with anything that looks like spam.

Bank of America Pressured by Feds to Buy Merrill Lynch?

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Board of Governo...

The saga of BofA CEO Ken Lewis continues...

Documents released by Republicans paint a not-so-flattering portrait of federal regulators exerting pressure on Bank of America to conclude its deal with Merrill Lynch, even though the the deal was fast deteriorating. Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis testified that federal officials pressured him to the point that his job was at stake.

Reuters notes an email from Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker that cites Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Lewis' belief that he could exercise a "material adverse change" (MAC) clause to scuttle the Merrill agreement. "Just had a long talk with Ben...Says they think the MAC threat is irrelevant because it's not credible. Also intends to make it even more clear that if they play that card and they need assistance, management is gone."

The New York Times suggests the government was alarmed as Merrill's condition weakened. They hashed out a plan to save Merrill in the event the deal fell through. The news coincides with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing today. It will feature Lewis as the sole witness and examine the deal.

For more:
- here's the Reuters article
- here's the New York Times article

MasterCard Announces Annual Meeting Results

Stockholders Re-elect Four Members to Board of Directors
and Announces Regular Quarterly Dividend Closing of 2009 Class B Conversion Program

PURCHASE, N.Y., June 11 (PIN Payments News) -- MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) announced the results of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held earlier today at the company's worldwide headquarters in Purchase, NY.

MasterCard stockholders:

Re-elected the following Class A Directors with a term to expire in 2012: Richard Haythornthwaite, Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors, President of PSA Energy Holdings SPC and an advisor to Star Capital Partners Limited; David R. Carlucci, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of IMS Health Incorporated; and, Robert W. Selander, President and Chief Executive Officer of MasterCard Incorporated;
Re-elected Steven J. Freiberg, Executive Vice President of Citibank, N.A., Class M Director, with a term to expire in 2012;
Approved amendments to the Company's amended and restated certificate of incorporation allowing, among other things, the Company's Board of Directors to have increased flexibility to appoint and/or nominate for election by the stockholders up to three additional directors; and
Ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2009.

Addressing stockholders on the company's business, MasterCard President and Chief Executive Officer Robert W. Selander noted that while the financial services industry has experienced challenging economic conditions recently, MasterCard continues to deliver shareholder value and the company is well positioned for the long-term.

"During these unprecedented times, we are taking a flexible and adaptive approach to managing our business," commented Selander. "Like any industry we face a number of challenges, however, we believe there is significant opportunity for growth as more and more consumers and businesses continue to demand easier, more efficient, convenient and safer forms of payment." (Editor's Note: More efficient and safer than card not present, signature debit? Hmmm...wonder if they mean, card present TRUE PIN debit?)

MasterCard's Board of Directors also declared today a cash dividend of $0.15 per share, payable on August 10, 2009, to holders of record of its Class A common stock and Class B common stock as of July 10, 2009.

In February 2009, the MasterCard Board of Directors authorized the conversion and sale or transfer of up to 11 million shares of Class B common stock into Class A common stock. In May 2009, the Company implemented a conversion program, and announced today that the program has been closed. Under this program, approximately 10.9 million authorized shares of Class B common stock were converted into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock and subsequently have been or will be transferred by participating holders of Class B Common Stock or sold to public investors.

About MasterCard Incorporated

MasterCard Incorporated advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 21 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial-institution customers and merchants. Powered by the MasterCard Worldwide Network and through its family of brands, including MasterCard(R), Maestro(R) and Cirrus(R), MasterCard serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercard.com.

SOURCE MasterCard Incorporated

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

NRF Welcomes H.R. 2695

The National Retail Federation welcomed the introduction of Senate legislation requiring credit card companies to negotiate over hidden credit card processing fees on Tuesday.

FYI: When it comes to Interchange, Internet Retailers pay even more than their brick and mortar counterparts. Unless a consumer swipes their card, Visa and MasterCard consider it a "card not present" (CNP) transaction. CNP transactions are inherently more risky, and as such, carry higher Interchange Fees.

With HomeATM's PCI 2.0 Certified SwipePIN device, the consumer 100% replicates the brick and mortar transaction, thus replicating all the protocols for required to provide "card present" Interchange rates for eMerchants.

Better yet, our SwipePIN device comes complete with a built-in PIN Entry Device, meaning that consumers are enabled to "enter their PIN" if they are using a debit card. This results in "TRUE" PIN Debit* and an even lower (in fact the lowest) Interchange Rate, one we've dubbed: "PINterchange"

An eCommerce merchant can save 100 basis points (or more) on what they are currently paying in their "card not present" environment. We can PINter"change" that and save hundreds of thousands of dollars off your processing costs annually. Do a billion a year in sales? Well save you millions!

So whether you customer uses their credit card, (card present) or their debit card (card present PLUS TRUE PIN Debit) you'll save big!

The brick and mortar associations (National Retail Federation, National Association of Convenience Stores) are up in arms over interchange and since eTailers are paying an "arm" AND a "leg" for "Card Not Present" rates, you should investigate how we can provide a way for you to get a leg up on Visa and MasterCard with our PCI 2.0 certified PED. And it won't cost you an arm and a leg...$12 in quantities over 1000! (and our device comes encrypted, normally a $25 fee after purchasing a $150+ PIN Pad)

*TRUE PIN Debit (as opposed to a Software PIN Debit) There is a competitor's software based system which calls itself PIN Debit, but in fact, if you look at Visa or MasterCard's published Interchange Rates, you will NEVER find a "Card Not Present" PIN Debit rate...because CNP PIN does not exist. Thus, our competitor, is not really a competitor, as their rates will be exorbitantly higher than "card present" TRUE PIN Debit.

This from International Business Times

“This bill is the next step in the credit card
reform process that Congress began last month,” NRF Senior Vice
President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said. These hidden fees are believed to cost the average household more $400 a year and total more than $48 billion annually.

Duncan said “Congress can’t claim to have fixed credit cards without addressing the billions of dollars in artificially inflated prices that result from credit card interchange fees.” He added that this legislation would become the final step in protecting consumers against the rapidly increasing fees.

In 2008, interchange collections totaled $48 billion, up from $16.6
billion when NRF started tracking the fees in 2001. The increased
prices resulting from fees cost the average household an estimated $427
last year, up from $159 in 2001.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., today introduced the Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2009. The measure is similar to legislation Durbin sponsored last year and would require Visa and MasterCard banks to negotiate over “interchange” fees that are currently imposed on merchants on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.

Interchange is a fee averaging close to 2 percent that Visa and MasterCard banks charge merchants every time a credit card is used to pay for a transaction.

Visa and MasterCard effectively force merchants to pass the fees on to consumers by requiring them to be included in the advertised price of merchandise and making cash discounts difficult. Interchange is largely unknown to most consumers because Visa and MasterCard keep merchants from disclosing it on receipts and don’t disclose the fees on consumers’ monthly statements.

HR 2695, H.R. 2695, Credit Card Fair Fee Act, HomeATM, card present, PINterchange, card not present, Interchange, Visa, Mastercard,

DOS Attacks Endanger Mobile Data Networks - SECPOINT

Latest DOS Attacks Endanger Mobile Data Networks

During a session at the Cyber Infrastructure Protection Conference at the City College of New York last Thursday, a senior security researcher alerted than an evolved type of DOS (Denial of Service) attack is currently jeopardizing mobile data network security.

The DOS attack is a hacking method used to force a computer resource—i.e., a website—to become inaccessible to its target users—i.e., regular visitors of a website. One common DOS technique involves oversupplying the targeted computer system or network with outside communications requests so that it cannot process real information traffic, or it is accessed so sluggishly that it might as well have been unavailable.

Networking research Vice-President Krishan Sabnani of Bell Labs have uncovered an intrinsic vulnerability in mobile IP protocol that enables the launch of cyber attacks that are fairly simple to prepare but incredibly difficult to prevent or expose. The mobile IP DOS attacks, like the ones described above, would typically take the shape of, say, a inundated method of assault that requires constant setup and release of connections...

Read the entire article at SECPOINT.com

...At this time, Bell Labs is applying Sabnani's theories and studies on DOS hazards to create special security devices specifically engineered for mobile network protocols and architecture.

Denial of Service, Mobile Security

T-Mobile Data Breach Raises Retail M-Commerce Concerns

Written by Evan Schuman
June 10th, 2009

Excerpts from StorefrontBacktalk.com

"As retail IT execs start to experiment with—and actually deploy—mobile-commerce applications more, the realization that they have to rely on their new telecom partners to safeguard their experimental data is proving to be unnerving.

Recent incidents involving T-Mobile—where the carrier was forced to confirm some claims of a supposed cyberthief who said that he had hacked in and stolen databases, documents and scripts—don’t help.

As e-tailers have learned the hard way from E-Commerce, customers don’t care about tidy legal contracts assigning responsibility and quality-of-service obligations.

If they go to a Wal-Mart or a Home Depot site and they have a bad experience—whether it’s with uptime, a FedEx delivery hiccup, incorrect status reports, a video consumer comment that glitches or anything else that the retailer may or may not be directly handling—those customers are going to blame Wal-Mart or Home Depot and might take their business elsewhere.

If M-Commerce is on your plate, you need to get used to living by the carrier’s standards. The T-Mobile situation is much more than unsettling. It’s also baffling, with the public positions taken by both T-Mobile and the supposed intruder internally contradictory. (When a company seems to contradict itself in mid-statement, times are tough. When both entities in a conflict do it, welcome to telecom security discussions)"

Continue Reading at StorefrontBacktalk.com

No See in the Phish

Trojan Variant Infecting Singapore Banks

According to news reports from ZDNet Asia a newly found Trojan program is attacking online banking customers of local banks in Singapore.

The Trojan that infects a computer redirects the end-user onto a phony bank site, while the malware steals the user's actual login details.

Editor's Note: Well there's a new one.
Actually, on the phony site, the user is asked to fill up a third space apart from the normal spaces for username and 'personal identification number.'

At this point, the browser seems as if it is stuck; so the user is suggested that he re-submit his log-in details a number of times, till the Trojan intercepts them all.

Okay, once again, as I've stated numerous times on this blog...the old-fashioned "username | password" login is long obsolete. When it comes to phishing, let me give you a tip. You type, They swipe. It really is that simple.

So why is it that banks make it simple for the hackers? It's easy as 1-2-3 to completely eliminate the threat of phishing. Banks have already completed the 1-2 part. It's the three that would completely eliminate phishing, the threat of cloned bank websites, eliminate the usefulness of DNS hijacking, stop trojans in their tracks, etc, etc, etc. How do you do it...you ask?

With HomeATM's 2FA (Two Factor Authentication) 3DES, Protected by DUKPT, PCI 2.0 Certified PIN Entry Device, the users login data is encrypted, i.e. "never in the clear"

Since users never typed "ANYTHING" into a website, then there isn't "ANYTHING" for phishers to see. If there's nothing for them to see, then there is, in effect, no phish in the sea. Do you know of anyone who goes phishing where there are no fish?

Easy as 1-2-3

1. Banks Issue Card
2. Banks Issue PIN
3. Banks Issue HomeATM SwipePIN Device

End Result: Phishers are Toast!

phiishinig, cloned web sites, HomeATM, SwipePIN, SafeTPIN, PCI 2.0, Online Banking,

Twitter Study: 55% Go "Untweeted" and Don't Follow Anyone

SOURCE: HubSpot, Inc.

World's Largest Twitter Study by HubSpot Reports Over Half of Accounts Don't Tweet

Despite Buzz and Growth, HubSpot's State of Twittersphere Finds Twitter Users' Participation and Activity Lags
Highlighted Links

June 09 State of Twittersphere
HubSpot Website

http://twitter.com/homeatm

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - June 10, 2009) - HubSpot released its June 2009 State of the Twittersphere (http://bit.ly/SOTblog0609) (Twitter hashtag: #SOTwitter) report, analyzing data from more than 4.5 million Twitter accounts over a nine month period to measure Twitter growth and report statistics on tweets, the Twitter user base and user geography. The study finds that despite obvious growth in the number of Twitter accounts, over nine percent of Twitter users are inactive.

While the Wall Street Journal reports that the number of Twitter accounts has grown to 32.1 million from 1.6 million a year ago, the HubSpot State of the Twittersphere study reports low activity levels for a significant number of users. Specifically, 55.5% of users are not following anyone, 54.9% have never tweeted and 52.71% have no followers.

This is HubSpot's second State of the Twittersphere report and is based on data gathered from Twitter Grader, one of HubSpot's free marketing tools that measures the power and authority of Twitter accounts based on factors such as number of followers, reach and frequency of updates. The study uses data from the past nine months on a pool of over 4.5 million users who have evaluated their accounts using Twitter Grader.

State of Twittersphere - Twitter Report June 2009

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Technology Business & Law twitter twitter data

"Recently, there has been a lot of buzz from mainstream media about the growth of Twitter," said Brian Halligan, CEO and co-founder of HubSpot. "However, the June 2009 State of the Twittersphere points out that people may not be using Twitter to its full potential. If new users aren't really engaged, should it really be considered growth?"

Download the new June 2009 State of the Twittersphere report at http://bit.ly/sotwitter.

HubSpot encourages feedback and comments about #SOTwitter on the HubSpot Inbound Internet Marketing Blog at http://bit.ly/SOTblog0609.

Find HubSpot's first, Q4 2008 State of the Twittersphere report at http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4439/State-of-the-Twittersphere-Q4-2008-Report.aspx.

About the State of the Twittersphere

The State of the Twittersphere is a regularly updated study about Twitter to communicate significant findings about Twitter growth and statistics about tweets, the Twitter user base and user geography. The study reports on data gathered from Twitter Grader, a free, online diagnostic tool that measures the power and authority of Twitter accounts. The State of the Twittersphere is compiled by HubSpot, Inc.

About HubSpot

HubSpot, Inc. provides Internet marketing software that helps businesses get found online, generate more inbound leads and convert a higher percentage of those leads into paying customers. HubSpot's software platform includes tools that allow professional marketers and small business owners to manage search engine optimization, blogging and social media, as well as landing pages, lead intelligence and marketing analytics. Based in Cambridge, MA, HubSpot can be found at http://www.hubspot.com. HubSpot's free marketing tools can be found at http://grader.com.

Money Transfer Market Hit by Recession - Report

Recession hits International Money Transfer Market Says New Report

Report Buyer, the online destination for business intelligence for major industry sectors, has added a new report presenting the drivers of the global money transfer industry and the opportunities available within the market.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 10, 2009

The report “Global Money Transfer (Remittance) Market: An Analysis” available at http://www.reportbuyer.com/go/KOA04368 analyzes the historical trend of money transfers and the recent impact of economic slowdown on the industry.

The money transfer market or the remittance market is extremely large and has been growing at a steady rate over the last two decades, driven mostly by a combination of long-term trends relating to immigration flows, disparities among national economies and technological innovation.

According to the new report the remittance from overseas workers is under pressure as a consequence of the downturn in the global economy. With global GDP (gross domestic product) expected to contract by 0.9% in 2009 and with recession hitting the key destinations for migrants especially the United States, the European Union and the Gulf countries, the flow of remittances is expected to decline considerably this year. The developing countries that are popular for the export of labour have already started facing the inevitable problem of declining remittances with companies across the globe having started shedding employees.

The formal money transfer industry is highly fragmented with MTOs like Western Union, MoneyGram and Ria (Euronet) controlling a very small share of the total market. Smaller and local players hold the majority of the share but do not have the financial strength to gain further investments or market their products and develop their brands.

The report titled "Global Money Transfer (Remittance) Market: AnAnalysis" analyzes the historical trend of money transfers and therecent impact of economic slowdown on the industry. The report presentsthe drivers of the industry and the opportunities for the moneytransfer organizations despite a slowdown in the flow of remittances.The challenges that MTOs are facing have also been illustrated in thereport. Further, the competitive landscape of the industry in whichglobal MTOs like Western Union, MoneyGram, Euronet and Coinstar areoperating has also been analyzed. The future of the industry has alsobeen critically discussed in this report.

Report Buyer product ID: KOA04368

About Report Buyer.
Report Buyer (http://www.reportbuyer.com/business_books/management/ind ...) is the independent online store for global business information. The website now lists more than 100,000 company overviews, market research reports, industry studies and business books from over 270 specialist publishers. Thousands of professionals from across the world make ReportBuyer.com their first choice in their search for quality business insight.

# # #

Western Union Money Transfer Now Available at US Bank

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & MINNEAPOLIS - (PIN Payments Blog via Business Wire)

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in money transfer services, and U.S. Bank, the sixth largest commercial bank in the United States and lead bank of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB), announced today the rollout completion of the Western Union® global money-transfer service across 2,791 U.S. Bank branch locations in 24 states.

Future plans also include expanding the Western Union® global money-transfer service to U.S. Bank online consumers.

“U.S. Bank and walk-in consumers are now able to send domestic or international money transfers at U.S. Bank via Western Union for payout in 200 countries and territories,” said Kevin Wright, vice president of emerging markets at U.S. Bank. “Our relationship with Western Union enables U.S. Bank to meet the unique needs of consumers and the diverse communities we serve. We see Western Union as a strategic partner as we continue to offer products and services to new and existing consumers.”

The signing of U.S. Bank is an important step in Western Union's North America "go-to-market" strategy to continue its expansion into the banking channel. As Western Union expands its service offerings, in an effort to strongly position money transfers to consumers, it looks to tap into consumer banking channels including: Cash-to-Cash, Account-to-Cash, and Account-to-Account.

Carter Hunt, senior vice president strategic accounts and business development, The Americas for Western Union, added, “U.S. Bank and Western Union are brands consumers trust. Together, our businesses will now provide money transfer services to consumers, through an outstanding global network.”

“For many consumers, Western Union's service represents a fast, convenient and reliable connection with family and friends. Anything that we can do to make that connection easier is an example of the tremendous value the Western Union brand adds to banked consumers.”

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in the money transfer segment of global payments. Together with its Orlandi Valuta and Vigo branded money transfer services, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. It operates through a combined network of more than 379,000 Agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, with $264 billion in assets, is the parent company of U.S. Bank, the 6th largest commercial bank in the United States. The company operates 2,847 banking offices and 5,183 ATMs in 24 states, and provides a comprehensive line of banking, brokerage, insurance, investment, mortgage, trust and payment services products to consumers, businesses and institutions. Visit U.S. Bancorp on the web at usbank.com.

Pulse Provides Debit Card/ATM Safety Tips

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The Freeze is On Web Poker Players Millions

June 10, 2009
Web’s Poker Winners Face Delays in Collecting
By MATT RICHTEL

Opening a new front in the government’s battle against Internet gambling, federal prosecutors have asked four American banks to freeze tens of millions of dollars in payments owed to people who play poker online.

The frozen payments of at least $33 million are owed to 27,000 players at four offshore poker sites, including PokerStars.com andFullTiltPoker.com, according to John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, an advocacy group for online poker players.

Mr. Pappas said prosecutors in the last two weeks have asked Citibank, Wells Fargo and two smaller banks to freeze funds in accounts belonging to two companies, Allied Systems and Account Services, that process payouts on behalf of the poker sites.

The government action came to light over the weekend after checks issued to poker players by the two companies began bouncing, Mr. Pappas said. He said that the online casinos had assured him that they planned to pay players what they were owed.

Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for the office of the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, which is bringing the legal action, declined to comment.

Stephen Cohen, a spokesman at Citibank, a unit of Citigroup, confirmed that the bank had received a request from prosecutors. He said that as a matter of policy Citibank complies with such requests.

Wells Fargo, which received a court order to freeze the money, said it had a policy to comply with “valid instructions to seize funds” but declined further comment. It is not clear whether the other banks received court orders or simply requests.

I. Nelson Rose, a professor of law at Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, Calif., and an specialist on gambling law, called the government’s move a surprising and significant new effort to police wagering on the Internet.

Continue Reading at NY Times

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