Facebook has been targeted by malicious hackers seeking to steal valuable data from members. The social network site has been hit by five separate security problems in the last seven days, say security experts.
By creating fake messages padded with details of Facebook members the thieves are capitalising on the trust and social links that drive the network. Security firms warn that the popularity of social networking sites makes them a tempting target for hi-tech thieves. Trust network
"It's been a pretty bad week for social networking in general," said Rik Ferguson, senior security advisor at Trend Micro.
In the last week, said Mr Ferguson, Facebook had been hit by four malicious applications as well as a new variant of the Koobface virus that first targeted members of the social site in December 2008. The rogue applications on Facebook all try to steal saleable information from the profiles of those who open it up, said Mr Ferguson.
One malicious application tried to trick people into adding it by claiming that their friends were having trouble looking at their profile. If the application is added it spams itself to every Facebook friend that a member of the site has. Even as Facebook stamps out one malignant application, it can pop up in another place." Once installed the malicious program hunts for cookies on a victim's computer and uses the details it finds in the small text files to log into other social sites that person may be a member of. Editor's Note: I have to wonder out loud why they wouldn't be able to log into Twitter as "anyone they want" and wipe out "anyone they want's" prepaid "Twitpay" account.
Watch for the headline of that particular breach by the end of the year....
About 7.5 percent of U.S. adults lost money as a result of financial fraud last year, mostly due to data breaches, according to a new Gartner study released on last night.
In the survey of nearly 5,000 consumers, 70 percent said they had never been a victim of identity theft fraud. Meanwhile 14 percent said they had had their credit card information used to charge purchases or get money, 7 percent said their debit card was used, 6 percent said a new account had been opened in their name, 5 percent had money transferred out of their account, and 4 percent had had checks forged.
The study also looked at why people switch banks and concluded that security and financial health of a bank were of about equal importance to consumers, said Gartner analyst Avivah Litan.
From the Twitpay Blog: Twitpay taken out of Beta...
First, an overview.
In order to use this service you must first sign up, secondly Transfer (PUT SOME CASH) money into your Twitpay account which is administered by Amazon, and third, use Amazon Payments to move your cash to and fro. This isn't a true money transfer service...it's a prepaid service. Otherwise you would not have to "fund" a third party first in order to fund a first party second...
According to Twitpay’s FAQ page, the app was created “because Silicon Alley Insider said it was a billion dollar business (and) a billion dollar business sounded good to us.” It is a good idea. But...as you'll read below, Twitter themselves admit that "we’ve faced some challenges, mostly because doing money transfer is a pretty complicated thing to do. There are a lot more regulations to comply with than we guessed over that weekend in November". Well guess what. Hackers can (and will) make it even more complicated in the future. The idea of taking your cash out of your checking or savings account and placing it into another account before it can be transferred seems to be to "middlemanish." Why go through that extra step when instead you could completely eliminate the middle man? It seems to me that with no middleman, you would eliminate "man-in-the-middle" attacks. That's how HomeATM's P2P money transfer service is designed. You enter the email of the recipient, swipe your card, enter your PIN, hit Send. They receive the email, swipe "their" card, enter "their" PIN and hit Receive. Simple yes? Dually authenticated on BOTH ends, with beginning to end encryption. And it's done in "REAL-TIME".
This from the Twitpay Blog:
Today, we’re taking Twitpay out of beta and putting it out there for everyone to use. (If you don’t like to read long blog posts: we’re turning on “real money” powered by Amazon Payments. We’re excited. Twitpay is awesome.)
Since our unusual inception at Atlanta Startup Weekend 2 we’ve had an interesting few months. As a company, we’ve faced some challenges, mostly because doing money transfer is a pretty complicated thing to do. There are a lot more regulations to comply with than we guessed over that weekend in November. We’ve also seen some competition, and some copycats. We welcome the former, and are annoyed by the latter, although the job post for “build a clone of Twitpay” was really appealing. Maybe we should have applied for it…
Mostly what we’ve seen is that you want to use Twitpay, just like we do. In fact, the most frequent question (maybe the only question) we get asked is “When can I do real money?”
We’re exceedingly happy to say that the answer is “right now.”
As we’ve thought about what’s important about social payments, a few things stayed in the front of our minds: they have to be really easy, and they have to be secure. We got the easy part down on Day 1: just tweet the money and it goes! If you haven’t used Twitpay yet, here’s how it works:
1. Post a tweet like ”@ev twitpay $1 because Twitter is awesome” 2. There’s no Step 2!
Our apologies to Jeff Goldblum.
If you’re sending money to someone who will probably send you some back later (settling up your coffee shop tab every day) you may be happy with just keeping track. For most of us, though, there are times when you want to send “real money.”
The standard way to solve this is to say “Well, you give some money to Twitpay, and then later we’ll give it to the person you sent money to.” In fact, that’s what we started to do at first. Something didn’t sit right with us, though. Why should you trust Twitpay with your money? You don’t know us. Even more importantly, in the above scenario, Twitpay effectively becomes a bank. And while the allure of TARP funds is seductive, we’ve heard some rumblings lately that maybe being a bank isn’t the greatest idea right now.
So we decided not to ask you to trust us. Working with Amazon Payments, we’ve built a new version of Twitpay that means we don’t have to be the middle-man for your cash. That’s good for you as a user because you don’t have to trust us with your money, you just have to trust Amazon. It’s good for us as a service because it allows us to focus on adding new features and focus on the core of our business.
So as of 12:01 AM, March 3, 2009, Twitpay is live with real money. And we are also the most secure and trustworthy social payment platform out there. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please visit us twitpay.me and click on the Support link. We look forward to hearing from you.
IBM's Zurich research laboratory has developed a USB stick that the company says can ensure safe banking transactions even if a PC is riddled with malware.
A prototype of the device, called ZTIC (Zone Trusted Information Channel), is on display for the first time at the Cebit trade show this week. IBM hopes to entice banks into buying it for online banking, which saves banks money on personnel costs but is constantly under siege by hackers.
When plugged into a computer, ZTIC is configured to open a secure SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection with a bank's servers, said Michael Baentsch, product manager for BlueZ Business Computing at the Zurich lab.
ZTIC is also a smart-card reader and can accept a person's bank card for verification. Once a PIN (personal identification number) is verified, a transaction can be initiated through a Web browser.
Web browsers, however, are a point of weakness for online banking because of so-called man-in-the-middle attacks.
Hackers have created malicious software programs than can modify data as it is sent to a bank's Web server but then display the information the consumer intended in the browser. As a result, a person's bank account could be emptied. Man-in-the-middle attacks are also effective even if the bank's customer is using a one-time password generator.
The ZTIC, however, bypasses the browser and goes directly to the bank. It ensures that the data exchanged is accurate.
Editor's Note: Sounds like IBM agrees with Avivah Litan, who agrees with HomeATM. Hardware is not an option...it's a necessity.
For example, say a bank customer wants to transfer money. The customer will input US$100 into a form in the browser. The bank's servers will then try to confirm the amount. During a man-in-the-middle attack, the attacker is capable of transferring $1,000 but can modify the confirmation message to still show $100.
Since it has a direct secure connection with the bank's servers, the ZTIC will show the amount that actually has been requested to be sent. So even if the browser shows a confirmation for $100, the ZTIC will show $1,000, indicating a man-in-the-middle attack in progress, Baentsch said. The user would know to reject the transaction and press the red "x" button on the ZTIC.
"If malware is attacking your online banking transaction, it will show you something strange has happened," Baentsch said.
IBM expended a lot of effort to figure how to initiate an SSL session within a USB stick, Baentsch said. It takes some processing muscle, and since the USB runs independent of the PC, it does not have access to the computer's processor.
ZTIC uses a chip from microprocessor designer ARM, and the software has been designed so it can quickly establish a SSL session, Baentsch said. Although it is a memory stick, no data can be stored on it, which also prevents malicious software from infecting it.
Using ZTIC would also prevent phishing attacks, where a fraudulent Web site tries to elicit sensitive details from a user, and pharming attacks, where DNS (Domain Name System) settings have been tampered with, Baentsch said. ZTIC checks to ensure that the Web site has a valid security certificate.
IBM has internal figures on how much the ZTIC might cost for banks, but Baentsch wouldn't reveal them, saying that it would depend on the final design specifications of the ZTIC and other factors.
Web sales at Macy’s grow 29% in 2008 while total sales sink 7.7%
The full-year story on 2008 is in for Macys Inc., the department store chain, and final numbers confirm what the chain experienced as the year progressed: Online sales had blow-out growth while the stores continued to sink.
Macy’s online sales grew 29% in 2008 while total sales were down 7.7% and comp-store sales were down 7%.
Macy’s, No. 28 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, didn’t break out dollar numbers for online sales in its earnings report this week, but the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide estimated Macy’s 2007 web sales at $812.2 million. Growth of 29% would put Macys.com’s 2008 sales at $1.04 billion, an increase of about $230 million.
By that measure, the web accounted for 4.2% of Macy’s sales in 2008 vs. 3.1% the year before. Total sales in 2008 equaled $24.89 billion versus $26.31 billion in 2007. Macy’s includes web site sales in its same-store sales calculations.
Macy’s bottom line was in positive territory, with net earnings of $280 million versus $893 million a year earlier.
Macy’s executives were unable to explain the cause of the growth in web sales in a call with stock analysts this week. When an analyst asked why online sales had grown so strongly, Karen M. Hoguet, Macy’s CFO, said, “I don’t know, honestly. We’re very pleased with it, I think the team working on Macys.com has done a terrific job of integrating it more and more with the store experience, so I think that’s a piece of it. I think that the site looks better than ever, the assortments are sharp and were in stock. I have to believe that helps. But I’m surprised.”
According to two surveys of USmobile phone users that were conducted by ABI Research, most consumers’preferences and choices when using their mobile phones for shoppinghave remained largely unchanged between late 2007 and late 2008,indicating the barriers to mobile money services remain strong.
Howeveron a more positive note more than half of all the respondents havepurchased at least one ringtone, suggesting that low-value transactionsare less threatening to consumers. Respondents also showed somewillingness to have mobile purchases added to their wireless phone bill.
“Consistentfrom year to year, a little over one-half of all respondents are notinterested in using their mobile phones to make purchases,” says ABIResearch senior analyst Jeff Orr.
“Transaction security was cited by71% of mobile phone users as a major concern preventing wider uptake.
As consumers become more comfortable with transaction security byestablishing trust with transaction vendors, more emphasis will beplaced on the speed of the transaction.”
Textmarketing messages remain unpopular with consumers, although someindicated that they were open to inducements such as free content aimedat converting a message to a sale.Senior analyst Mark Beccueadds, “As smartphone penetration increases, more merchants willintroduce mobile shopping, spurring growth. Smart merchants will focuson the advantages of mobile, such as impulse shopping and real-timeauctions.“
The surveys, each of which sampled more than 1000 mobile phone users in the United Statesaged 14-59 and across a wide range of demographic profiles, wereconducted in November 2007 and December 2008. They queried users’preferences with regard to a variety of mobile phone and content usagequestions.
“US Mobile Phone Purchase Trends”compares results of the two surveys, and includes survey methodology,responses laid out in charts with additional summaries and analysis,and respondent classification/demographics.Itis one of a series of Research Briefs comparing the results of ABIResearch’s 2007 and 2008 consumer mobile content surveys across anumber of topics. They are all included in two of the firm’s Research Services, “The Mobile Consumer” and Mobile Money.
ABIResearch provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting ofemerging trends in global connectivity. From offices in North America,Europe and Asia, ABI Research’sworldwide team of experts advise thousands of decision makers throughresearch and advisory services in seven key practice areas. Est. 1990.For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Verifi Inc., the leading provider of transaction risk management services for card-not-present merchants, today announced that the company has signed a preferred partner agreement with Chase Paymentech.
Chase Paymentech is a global leader in payment processing and merchant acquiring, processing more than half of all Internet transactions.
Verifi will recommend Chase Paymentech as a preferred merchant account provider to its merchant customers, and will provide its transaction risk management services, including chargeback prevention and management, to Chase Paymentech's card-not-present merchants.
"Verifi has already had success in working with our merchants to help them identify transaction risk, and has put effective measures in place that not only allow them to control chargebacks, but also help them operate more efficient and profitable businesses," said Rob Lyons, Vice President, Technology Alliances, for Chase Paymentech.
"We are very pleased to be partnering with Chase Paymentech, the recognized leader in card-not-present transaction processing, and we look forward to working jointly with them to help our mutual clients identify and manage their transaction risk," said Jennifer Schulz, chief operating officer of Verifi.
About Chase Paymentech
Chase Paymentech, a business unit of JPMorgan Chase, is a global leader in payment processing and merchant acquiring, capable of authorizing transactions in more than 130 currencies. The company's state-of-the-art platforms provide access to a wide variety of payment methods, such as credit cards, debit cards, prepaid stored value cards and electronic check processing.
With a legacy of innovation and vision in electronic payments, Chase Paymentech has promoted the growth of e-commerce worldwide. The company continues to fuel the success of the Internet's largest brands, currently processing more than 50 percent of all Internet transactions. Offering secure payment solutions, improving cash-flow management, mitigating risk and accelerating funding, Chase Paymentech's consultative approach helps today's small and emerging businesses become tomorrow's industry leaders. On the Internet or at the point of sale, Chase Paymentech's unique combination of outstanding service, innovative solutions and financial strength offers solid benefits to companies both large and small. More information can be found at www.chasepaymentech.com.
About Verifi
Verifi is a leading provider of electronic payment and risk management solutions for card-not-present merchants. Verifi’s highly customizable payment gateway serves as a foundation for its suite of risk management services. Verifi has a proven track record of reducing risk and increasing profitability for its clients by offering transaction risk management and mitigation, business optimization strategies, cardholder authentication, and chargeback representment for all major card brands.
Verifi also advises and supports its clients with a full compliment of alternative payment services. Verifi is a PCI Level1 compliant transaction processor, and is certified to process transactions with all major U.S. payment processors. Verifi continually works with its partners within the payment industry to drive innovative services and solutions that will help its merchant clients to better manage risk and operate their business more efficiently.
The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with a satellite office in Redwood Shores, California. For more information on Verifi, please visit www.Verifi.com.
eMarketer reports on comScore's 2008 E-Commerce Sales..
Unlike in preceding years, business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce growth got sluggish in 2008. Looking specifically at retail e-commerce, comScore found that sales grew by only 6% in 2008, the lowest rate since the dot-com crash in 2003.
Of the total $221 billion in B2C online sales last year, $130 billion were retail e-commerce sales. The rest were travel sales.
Other sources reported numbers similar to comScore’s, with Citi Investment Research, Collins Stewart and eMarketer all within $10 million of their retail projection.
The online retail categories that were hardest hit by theslowdown were computer software, digital entertainment and officesupplies, while fitness equipment, books and furniture continuedstrong.
So how can companies thrive under tough economic conditions? GianFulgoni of comScore suggests savvy marketers ask themselves thefollowing questions:
Am I appropriately allocating my marketing/advertising budgets?
How am I measuring my online advertising performance?
What is my current coupon/promotion strategy?
Am I using the down economy as a time to build relationships with customers that will pay off in the future?
Am I optimizing my search strategy in today’s economy?
Am I being creative, or am I doing what I have always done?
If you have the right answers, then the downturn might not be so bad.
Shoebuy and Moneta Offer Online Shoppers Secure, Convenient, Responsible Payments
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shoebuy.com, one of the largest Internet retailers of footwear and apparel, will offer Moneta as its newest payment option. Moneta offers consumers a secure, free online payment method which enables them to safely pay from their bank account without leaving the merchant site or disclosing sensitive information.
Consumers setup their free Moneta account conveniently through a single enrollment process at www.monetacorp.com; setting a username, password and designating a bank account for online payments. When shopping online, the consumer simply logs in, and completes the transaction within seconds, without leaving the merchant site or revealing sensitive information.
Moneta’s method of securely transferring payments from the consumer’s checking account is growing in popularity. Financial analysts predict that consumer credit use may decline by 40 percent within a year accelerating debit-based payment acceptance, like Moneta, as consumers pay down credit balances.
“Shoebuy customers appreciate the range of choice we provide in product selection and in payment options,” said Jim Keller, SVP Marketing at Shoebuy.com. “Moneta is well suited for our customers who prefer to pay directly from a bank account and avoid running up credit balances and interest charges. In addition to providing value to our existing customers, we believe that Moneta’s bank payment approach will attract new customers to Shoebuy.com through unique marketing programs with trusted consumer organizations such as financial institutions and non-profits.”
“We are pleased to have Moneta added as a payment option on Shoebuy.com, one of the largest online retailers,” said Guido Sacchi, CEO of Moneta. “Shoebuy’s commitment to a positive customer experience reflects our focus on increasing consumer confidence through a secure, easy online transaction that promotes responsible spending. Using Moneta, Shoebuy customers now have a safe, easy-to-use option to pay directly from their bank account.”
About Shoebuy.com
Shoebuy.com is the largest retailer on the Internet focused on all categories of footwear and related apparel. Shoebuy.com has partnerships with more than 750 manufacturers and represents more than 700,000 products from top brands including adidas, Aerosoles, Allen-Edmonds, Born, Bostonian, Brooks, Charles by Charles David, Clarks, Crocs, Dockers, Donald J Pliner, Dr. Martens, Easy Spirit, Fila, Florsheim, Franco Sarto, Hush Puppies, Jessica Simpson, Johnston & Murphy, K-Swiss, Keds, Mephisto, Merrell, Mezlan, Naturalizer, New Balance, Reebok, Rockport, Sebago, Skechers, Softspots, Sperry Top-Sider, Stride Rite, Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, and many more. Shoebuy.com also operates Bagsbuy.com, which represents all categories of bags including handbags, backpacks, luggage, baby gear, briefcases and laptop bags. Shoebuy.com is an operating business of IAC.
About Moneta Corporation
Moneta Corporation offers secure, convenient methods for consumers to pay online merchants directly from their checking or money market accounts. Moneta partners with online merchants, nonprofits and financial institutions to process payments, while providing banks online branding opportunities. Merchants offering Moneta payments benefit from increased online traffic through marketing programs with trusted financial institutions and non-profits. Moneta is a privately-held company headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. Visit www.monetacorp.com.
Merchant Risk Council Announces Annual E-Commerce Fraud Survey Results
MRC Platinum Members Show Best Overall Online Fraud Control Management
Editor's Note: HomeATM's Chief Operating Officer, Mitch Cobrin will be in attendance at this years Merchant Risk Council’s 7th Annual e-Commerce Payments and RiskConference March 10–12, 2009at the Wynn Las Vegas. If you know of any attendees you feel would be a good fit with HomeATM, let me know and I'll forward.
(Seattle, WA—March 3, 2009) The Merchant Risk Council (MRC), a merchant-led trade associationfocused on electronic commerce risk and payments globally, todayannounced the results of its Annual Merchant Fraud Survey. This year’s survey was sponsored byCyberSource Corporation as part of its broader annual survey of onlinefraud. The results of this survey showMRC Platinum members setting the pace for e-Commerce merchants in both thecontrol of online fraud and the protection of legitimate customer orders. MRC Platinum members are 150 of the largestonline retailers in the world.
This year’s survey shows that MRC Platinum members areutilizing the highest number of fraud detection tools, have the lowest manualorder review rates, and lead all merchants in reviewer productivity.
Key Survey Findings:
MRC Platinum members reported an average of just 1.1% of their totalrevenue lost to online fraud, compared to 1.4% for the overall sample, and 1.3%for other large non-member merchants with greater than $25 million in onlinesales
MRC Platinum members rejected 2.4% of domestic orders on suspicion offraud compared to 2.9% for the overall sample, and 2.6% for other largenon-member merchants
MRC Platinum members rejected just 6% of international orders compared to11% for the overall sample, and 12% for other large non-member merchants
MRC Platinum members reported a fraudulent international order rate ofjust 3.2%, compared to 4.0% for the overall sample and 3.4% for other largenon-member merchants
MRC Platinum members had a 70%higher review order productivity level compared to other large non-membermerchants, and were more than twice as productive as the overall sample
“This survey shows that even though MRC members are allowinga much greater rate of online orders to be processed, they are actuallyexperiencing a lower rate of overall fraud for both domestic and overseasorders,” said Tom Sullivan, Chairman of the MRC, and Sr. Director of GlobalPayments & Risk for Expedia, Inc. “Asmerchants continue to look for ways to maximize revenues during tough economictimes, accepting more valid international orders can be a great source ofgrowth.”
The survey also revealed that MRC Platinum members use anaverage of 7.8 automated fraud screening detection tools. This compares to just4.7 tools utilized by the overall sample and 5 tools used by other largenon-member merchants.
“Today’s online criminals are getting more sophisticated andrelentless in searching for merchant vulnerabilities,” said MRCExecutive Director Tom Donlea. “The MRC allows a wide range of e-Commerce and multi-channel retailersto combine forces and strengthen their defenses. These survey results validate ourcollaborative efforts in both fighting fraud and increasing merchantprofitability.”
Full survey results will be presented by CyberSourceas part of the Merchant Risk Council’s 7th Annual e-Commerce Payments and RiskConference March 10–12, 2009at the Wynn Las Vegas. The conferencewill be uniting over 500 representatives from the world’s top Internetmerchants, credit card companies, risk management providers, law enforcementagencies and various consultants and educators – all with the mission of makinge-Commerce safer and more efficient for consumers.
Conference keynote speakers include:
TomRidge, the firstUSSecretary of Homeland Security, addressing the growing cyber security issuesthat affect both USsecurity and the global economy.
Terry Jones, Travelocity.com founder, focusing on the business ofinnovation.
Chris Hansen, Dateline NBC correspondent, sharing his findings on thegrowing cybercrime community.
Forfull conference schedule, registration and exhibition information, please visitthe MRC website at www.merchantriskcouncil.org. Forjournalists wanting more information on this survey, please contact MRCCommunications Manager, Jordan Rubin (206.364.2789; jordan@merchantriskcouncil.org).
About the Survey
The MRC Platinum Fraud Survey was included as part of theEighth Annual CyberSource Fraud Survey, sponsored by CyberSource Corporationand conducted by Mindwave Research. Thesurvey was fielded October 21 through November 11, 2008 and yielded 400 qualified and complete responses, of which74 were MRC Platinum merchants. Thesample was drawn from a database of companies involved in electronic commerceactivities. Incentive to respondentsincluded a summary of the research.
Aboutthe Merchant Risk Council
The Merchant Risk Council (MRC) is a merchant-ledtrade association focused on electronic commerce risk and paymentsglobally. The MRC leads industry networking, education and advocacyprograms to make electronic commerce more efficient, safe and profitable. Today, with the power of its member-base, the MRC is the leading trade association for managing payments,preventing online fraud and promoting secure e-Commerce. The MRC is dedicated to working withe-Commerce and multi-channel merchants, payment processors, credit cardissuers, credit card companies, alternative payment providers, risk managementexperts, and law enforcement to make the Internet a safer and more profitableplace to do business. The MRC Board of Directors and Advisors includes:Expedia, Inc., Adobe Systems, Inc., Neiman Marcus Direct, 41stParameter, Apple, BestBuy.com, Bill Me Later, Blizzard Entertainment, ChasePaymentech, CyberSource Corporation, Dell, Inc., Discover Network, Gap, Inc.Direct, iovation, Microsoft, Trustwave, Visa, Inc. and Wal-Mart. The MRC is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.
Interac Association Encourages Canadians To Put Their Fraud Prevention Smarts to the Test March is Fraud Prevention Month
TORONTO, March 3 /CNW/ - March is Fraud Prevention Month, and as Canada's leading payment network, Interac Association is encouraging Canadians to put their debit card fraud prevention smarts to the test.
Can I share my PIN with a friend or family member?
Is it safe to enter my PIN without shielding it, if no one is watching me?
Do fraudsters have to physically have my card to steal money from my bank account?
If you answered "yes" to any of the above questions - you may want to take a refresher on how to use your debit card more safely. "INTERAC is among the safest networks in the world, however debit card fraud can occur and that's why we're involved in raising awareness about debit card fraud and educating Canadians about what they can do to help keep their money safe," said Caroline Hubberstey, Director, Public and Government Relations, Interac Association.
Interac Association and its industry partners have a number of initiatives in place to protect Canadians, including the transition to chip card technology, a new generation of payment cards that will significantly reduce debit card skimming and the production of counterfeit cards.
Cardholders can also play a role in the fight against fraud by practicing safe debit card use. Following are some key safety tips for cardholders and retailers:
Cardholder Safety Tips
1. Use your hand or body to shield your PIN during every transaction conducted at an Automated Banking Machine (ABM) or at the checkout; 2. Keep your debit card in sight when conducting transactions at the checkout; 3. Check your banking statements regularly and contact your financial institution immediately if you detect any unusual activity, for example purchases you did not make or missing charges; 4. Notify your financial institution immediately, if your debit card is lost, stolen or retained by an ABM; 5. Memorize your PIN - only you should know it. If you suspect that someone knows your PIN, even a friend or family member, change it immediately; 6. Select a unique PIN. Never use obvious information, such as your telephone number, date of birth, address or Social Insurance Number. These numbers are often stored in the same place as your debit card enabling criminals to easily guess your PIN.
Retailer Tips
1. Treat your PIN pads like cash. Keep PIN pads out-of-sight when not in use; 2. Check your PIN pads and Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) regularly for anything unusual; 3. Lock-up PIN pads at closing; 4. Include log-in sheets for accountability of PIN pad in cash open and close procedures; 5. Consider adding surveillance cameras; 6. Know your employees - exercise due diligence when hiring and check references; 7. Remind your customers to protect their PIN when entering it at every opportunity; 8. Talk to your payment service provider about other steps you can take to prevent fraud from happening at your location.
"In the instance of debit card fraud, cardholders are protected by the Canadian Code of Practice for Consumer Debit Card Services, under which victims will be reimbursed," said Hubberstey.
Chip cards to make safe system even more secure
Chip cards and terminals have already begun to roll out across Canada and the majority of Canadians will be able to fully benefit from this new technology by 2010. Throughout the transition chip terminals will recognize both chip and magnetic stripe cards, so customers will be able to continue to use their magnetic stripe card where chip terminals are not yet available.
For more information about debit card fraud and chip or to test your fraud prevention smarts, please visit www.interac.ca. About Fraud Prevention Month
Fraud Prevention Month is coordinated by the Fraud Prevention Forum (FPF), a group of private sector firms, consumer and volunteer groups, government agencies and law enforcement organizations committed to fighting fraud targeted to consumers and businesses. Chaired by the Competition Bureau, the FPF aims to prevent Canadians from becoming victims of fraud. About Interac Association
A recognized world leader in debit card services, Interac Association is responsible for the development and operations of the INTERAC network, a national payment network that allows Canadians to access their money through Automated Banking Machines and point-of-sale terminals across Canada. Interac Association was founded in 1984 and is composed of a diverse membership which includes banks, trust companies, credit unions, caisses populaires, merchants, and technology and payment related companies. Other INTERAC-branded and related services include: INTERAC Online, for secure online payments directly from a bank account, INTERAC Email Money Transfer, for the transfer of money from a bank account to anyone with an email address, and Cross Border Debit, for point-of-sale access at more than 1.5 million U.S. retailers. For further information: Media contacts: Tina Romano, Interac Association, (416) 869-5062, tromano@interac.ca; David Weinstein, Strategic Objectives, (416) 366-7735 ext. 231, davidw@strategicobjectives.com
Banks must wake up to payments challenge - Boston Consulting Group Banks around the world must take forceful steps to protect their payments businesses or risk a further dent in their profits as the financial crisis continues, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group.
The report, 'Weathering the Storm: Global Payments 2009', says that although payments businesses have proved to be reliable revenue generators - global payments revenues hit $805.1 billion in 2008, up from $654.3 billion in 2006, and are forecast to reach $1.4 trillion by 2016 - their momentum is slowing. The darkest cloud over the industry is the steady decline in average revenues per transaction. For banks, BCG estimates that these revenues will fall from $0.94 to $0.88 for domestic payments and from $9.33 to $7.50 for cross-border payments from 2008 through 2016.
According to the report, a variety of factors are contributing to price erosion and margin pressure, including regulatory pressure, intensifying competition, and infrastructure investments. The net result is higher costs, but not necessarily higher revenues.
Niclas Storz, a BCG partner and coauthor of the report, says banks chould address the business models for retail and corporate payments separately.
"On the retail payments side, the key to success will be a lean, end-to-end business model aimed at achieving the highest possible level of efficiency," he says. "On the corporate side, the key will be end-to-end service excellence rather than focusing solely on efficiency."
According to the report, banks in Europe should continue to avoid massive Sepa-related investments and policymakers should stop driving payments providers into unnecessary expenditures and focus instead on other initiatives - such as setting industry standards for electronic and mobile payment instruments and improving payments inefficiencies within specific countries through incentives.
Large automated clearing-houses (ACHs) in Europe are also advised to wait until it is apparent whether full Sepa will actually be achieved before consolidating volumes onto one platform. ACHs should make strategic acquisitions in order to secure volume, says BCG, but should take a wait-and-see approach before carrying out full migration.
In North America, the imminent challenge for payments providers is maintaining growth amid the credit crunch. The winners, the report says, will be those banks that capture a greater share of consumers' balance sheets through loyalty strategies that offer flexible rewards tied to overall relationships. In Latin America, the main challenges are migrating consumer payment preferences from cash to cards and encouraging the adoption of cards by both unbanked and underbanked consumers.
The payments opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, as in Latin America, begins with the large number of financially excluded consumers - those who do not have bank accounts. Mobile phones can thus play a game-changing role in emerging Asia-Pacific markets for distributing financial services in general - and payments specifically, says BCG.
Today, in the Times Online, they talk about some backlash, taking the form of fear, over contactless cards. Of course, as you'll read, there's really nothing to fear and there's no new risk. A Barclay's spokeswoman explains why to the best of her ability... (hope not)
From Times Online Fraud fears over contactless cards Barclays' customers could be liable for up to £50 of any losses on their debit cards Ali Hussain
A CASHLESS society came a step closer this week with the launch of Barclays “contactless” debit cards which allow customers to pay for items costing less than £10 by simply waving their cards over a reader.
However, concerns have been raised that customers will be exposed to more card fraud as stolen or lost cards will not require a pin to make payments. In some cases, customers could find they are liable for up to £50 of any losses.
The cards are being sent to all customers when their existing cards expire. Barclays is the first bank in the UK to roll out the technology to all current account customers as "a standard feature of most new and replacement debit cards".
Up to three million customers are expected to be using contactless debit cards by the end of the year and the majority of Barclays debit card customers will have one by 2011. However, there are concerns that the cards are more likely to expose the owner to any losses incurred before they report the card stolen.
Anyone finding a wallet containing a contactless card could immediately use it to make a number of small purchases while the card remains active. Apacs, the UK payments authority, said consumers are liable for the first £50 if their debit card is used by thieves before they cancel it. Editor's Note: Okay, so the new cards can be used immediately, and consumers are liable for the extra 50 pounds put on their cards. Understood. The next part is a little more confusing.. A spokeswoman for Barclays "denied" it was exposing its customers to a new risk, she said: "A lost and "reported" card will be immediately cancelled, and no longer useable. A card that has been lost but unreported for whatever reason can only be used four or five times before a PIN number is demanded. If the card was used fraudulently before it was reported missing we would look at the refund circumstances on an individual basis."
Editor's Note: So let me get this straight...a Barclay's spokeswoman "denied" it was exposing customers to a new risk...and the reasoning was that although consumers are "liable" for the first 50 pounds if their cards are used by thieves, (and a lost or stolen card can be immediately used)...the safety valve is that contactless cards can only be used 5 times (for 10 pound purchases) before a PIN number is demanded, thereby alleviating the new 50 pound risk that the new cards are not exposing it's customers to on a case-by-case basis. How convincing is that? Talk about Barclay up the Wrong Tree.
I'm dumbphoneded. Oh, and one last thing. A PIN Number? As in a Personal Identification Number-Number? Is that like dumb and dumber, but with a numb and number? Give me security over convenience.
Snapping its fingers under the nose of the "Great Recession," Index Ventures has closed a 350 million euro investment fund, a little pile worth upwards of $440 million, that it means to trickle into high-tech start-ups that need seed money and early stage capital.
It's thinking ventures in the cloud, alternative payments, mobile and e-commerce as well as virtualization and clean technology that are located in the US, Israeli and Europe - and its map of Europe jumps the Urals and goes into Russia.
A European operation in business since 1996, Index backed Skype - before it went to eBay - MySQL - before Sun bought it for a billion dollars cash - and Last.fm - before CBS bought the social music platform.
This new fund is its fifth in the last 10 years. It currently has money in Criteo (France), DimDim (India), Lehigh Technologies (US), MyHeritage (Israel), NormOxys (France), OpTier (Israel), Playfish (UK), WooMe (UK/US) and RightScale (US). And it frequently ties up with VC outfits such as Sequoia, Accel and NEA as well as angel investors such as Mark Andreessen.
David Rimer
David is a co-founder of Index Ventures and has been responsible for all aspects of the operations of Index since he joined in 1995. Prior to joining Index, David spent five years at The Capital Group Companies in Geneva, Los Angeles and New York. During his career at Capital, David worked in both the Fund Management and MSCI Index departments. He has a BA in Anthropology from Stanford University.
E-Pay’s Sticking a PIN in Paper Bank Technology News | March 2009 - By John Adams
It’s too early to dig a grave for paper money, but new research from BAI and Hitachi Consulting suggest cash is increasingly loosing out to automated payment modes like PIN and SIG debit.
The joint “2008 Study of Consumer Payment Preferences” shows PIN and SIG debit account for 37 percent of consumer payments, with cash coming in at 29 percent.
And PIN debit wins out over SIG debit by a 45 percent to 35 percent count.
For more information on the "2008 Study of Consumer Payment Preference and how not only debit, but specifically PIN Debit rules the land, read the PIN Payments Blog coverage at:
Consumers, merchants take aim at high rates and fees - Steve Arnold - The Hamilton Spectator
Canadians have always had a love-hate relationship with their credit cards, but in recent months there has been a lot more hate than love as consumers and businesses bristle at the way they feel abused by credit card issuers.
At the top of that list are sudden and drastic increases in interest rates and service charges, especially "hidden fees" paid by merchants who accept cards -- fees that end up being figured into the cost of a restaurant meal, CD or new suit. Reaction to those moves has sparked an Internet campaign led by the Retail Council of Canada called StopStickingItToUs.com .
Consumer anger about high interest rates -- up to 28.8 per cent in some cases -- and fees for everything from cash advances to foreign currency transactions has been well publicized. Less known are the "back office" fees that drain billions from hard-pressed merchants.
Peter Woolford, vice-president for policy development and research at the Retail Council, says that's allowed to go on because two massive companies dominate the market and use that bulk to gouge their customers.
"Credit cards remain an effective and efficient way of paying for goods, but there are problems," he said. "In Canada we have a duopoly in place that's taking advantage of its dominance to gouge us.
"We've been hit with a whole series of measures that have quite substantially increased the fees merchants have to pay," he added. "They very clearly are not listening to us." The credit card market in Canada is utterly dominated by Visa and MasterCard. Between them they control 80 per cent of the business -- 68.2 million credit cards used to purchase $267 billion of goods and services in 2008. In 2007 there were 64.1 million cards in use.
It's a profitable business. Very profitable. For 2008, Visa International reported global earnings of $1.7 billion US from processing payments of $2.7 trillion. In its earnings news release, the company stated its profit growth was "driven by strong contributions from service fees, data processing fees, and international transaction fees." In the fourth quarter alone those fees amounted to $788 million, up 8 per cent over the prior year. Data processing fees rose 18 per cent, to $548 million, and international transaction fees were up 45 per cent. For 2008, MasterCard International reported a net profit of almost $1.1 billion on revenue of $4.06 billion.
Those fees are the focus of the Retail Council's campaign demonizing "big credit card companies" that bled $4.5 billion from consumers in 2007 to cover "lavish incentive programs and corporate credit card benefits, even if you don't have one."
In industry jargon it's called the interchange fee, a levy of up to 3 per cent of the sale that's supposed to cover the cost of processing the transaction. Trouble is, according to the StopStickingItToUs campaign, only 13 per cent of what's collected actually goes to cover processing costs. More than 40 per cent goes to the cost of credit card reward programs such as Air Miles.
Restaurateurs Ron and Leanne Ciancone, of the Ancaster Old Mill and Spencer's in Burlington, figure 90 per cent of the business in their dining rooms is paid with credit cards. The fees for these transactions take as much as $170,000 a year off their profit statements.
"The credit card companies can do that to you. It's all about how much power they have," he said. "Nobody seems too interested in doing anything about it." "In some of these cases the credit card company is making more on a purchase than the merchant, and for no added value other than a way to pay," she said. Editor's Note: HATM can help online retailers cut their Interchange Fees by up to 100 basis points while providing an exponentially more secure payment environment for your online shoppers. Contact us to find out how to bring online debit to online shopping. Related Stories from the PIN Payments Blog
If retailers, specifically Internet Retailers, truly want V/MC to "stop sticking it to them," they should be organizing a push for PIN debit and the lower fees and higher security it brings to the table. ...
Editor's Note: This is the third time I've posted about Retail Council of Canada's "Stop Sticking itTo Us" campaign. They certainly are an incessant group getting a lot ofpublicity for their cause. Here's the latest attack on V/MC as ...
Credit-card companies 'sticking itto' Canadians with high fees, retailers say; EU to Allow DebitInterchange For Now - ETA; Canada Keeps Fighting to Change Interchange;Use a PIN to "Stop Sticking It To Us"... Update on HR 5546 ...
In it, I mentioned that if all these organizations made the same effort to have their customers use PIN Debit, they would stop sticking it to themselves. Maybe HomeATM can start a coalition with Internet Retailers and their associations ...
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Interac Association Encourages Canadians To Put Their Fraud Prevention Smarts to the Test
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New $440 Million Investment Fund
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