The Woz Gets Defrauded Out of His Bitcoin
Steve Wozniak had 7 bitcoin stolen from him through a credit card fraud scheme. The co-founder of Apple computer explained how he lost the bitcoin to a clever fraudster that conned him out nearly $100,000 by paying him with a phony credit card and then canceling the payment when the bitcoins were transferred. He Wanted […]
Phishing Fraudsters Pretend To Be Phony Fraud Analyst
Fraudsters figured it out. If you can’t beat em, join em. Which is exactly what they are doing now, and scamming consumers for tens of millions of dollars each month. If you want to see how they are doing it. Check out this story posted by a consumer that got scammed – I Got Phished. […]
Synthetic ID Fraud is Hot, But Think Bigger
As fraudsters become more sophisticated, more types of fraud are affecting auto finance. But rather than put the bulk of resources into emerging fraud types, auto lenders should develop a holistic approach to fighting fraud, experts say. “There is a tendency for lenders to react to the fraud of the moment,” which for now is […]
$1.8 Billion Dollar Internal Fraud Discovered at PNB
Do you think Internal Fraud is not a big deal at banks? Most banks I know don’t think they will ever get hit. But Punjab National Bank in India might change your mind. In the last week they discovered a $1.8 billion dollar fraud. 3 employees were arrested. And the bank branch where the theft […]
Employee Reports Fake Accounts – No One Listens
Have you heard the phrase, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, did it actually make a sound ?” It’s a mind bender but it makes you stop and think – was a sound made? I would change that phrase just a little bit and say, “If an employee reports […]
Digital Identity Companies Getting Gobbled Up
Digital Identity is red hot. And large companies are rushing to acquire technology companies that can bolster their defenses. In December 2016, American Express purchased InAuth, a mobile device authentication company, to provide the automated service on the Accertify platform. And just this week, Relx, the British publishing group turned analytics company bought ThreatMetrix for […]
Zelle Cracks Back on Fraudsters
American Banker had an interesting report on Zelle this week – Zelle Anti Fraud Effort Trips Up Customers. They report that the person-to-person payments service Zelle differentiates itself from rivals by promising users that transactions sent over its network will clear in near-real time. Yet in recent months, the service has faced a number of complaints […]
Auto Loan Synthetic Fraud Ring Busted
An elaborate multi-loan fraud case involving 22 borrowers was uncovered by Tinker Credit Union in Oklahoma after they analyzed their charge off’s and defaults and noticed an unusual pattern. 22 loan applicants advised the bank that they paid over $2,000 each to a person Paul Barry White – the ringleader of the scheme. In exchange for […]
New Fingerprint Card Launched To Stop Fraud
Gemalto announced a new product that should take a bite out of fraud – a new contactless fingerprint card. While fingerprint cards were launched last year, this is the first biometric-powered credit card with a contactless technology. The card will help stop fraud by ensuring that the only person that can use the card is […]
Visa’s Streamlined Disputes Will Reduce Friendly Fraud
It’s here. Visa is throwing their antiquated chargeback system out the window and streamlining it to make chargebacks faster and easier to understand. In April, Visa will launch the Visa Claims Resolution Initiative which will simplify disputes from 22 separate rules into 4 dispute categories, and they will speed up the process by automatically determining […]
There Will Be Fraud (And 10 Other Predictions for 2018)
2018 will be a big year for fraud. There will be fraud, lots and lots of fraud in 2018. If that comes as a shock to you. It probably shouldn’t. Fraud has been on the rise for the last 25 years and it is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. As a […]
This Nigerian Prince Wasn’t What People Expected
When you think of a Nigerian Prince, a lot of images come to mind but 67-year-old Michael Neu, is not one of them. But apparently, he had scores of victims thinking he was a real Nigerian prince. And a very rich and generous one at that. Slidell police this week arrested the aging “Nigerian Prince” and […]
Online Fraudsters Prefer These 7 Things
Online fraudsters are clever but their patterns of fraud are predictable and can be spotted easily if you know what to look for. Feedzai, an innovative machine learning company, does just that mining predictable online patterns of fraudsters that might not be visible to the naked eye. In a great report, you can find here. […]
Counterfeit Card Fraud Drops 66%
Visa reports that counterfeit fraud is dropping like a rock. According to a recent press release, Visa reports that chip technology is the reason for the drop. One of the leading factors was that chip technology is extremely effective in reducing counterfeit fraud, which was the leading type of fraud in the U.S. at the […]
Shifting Sands – Fraud Report Reveals Changing Landscape
Idology, an Identity Verification Company, has released their 5th Annual Fraud Report which reveals the shifting landscape of fraud over the past year. Like sand, fraud is always changing, always moving to the path of least resistance. And that was even truer this year as fraudsters escalated the cat and mouse game with more data […]
Scammed? Get Your Money Back From Western Union!
Wire Fraud is a growing epidemic here in the US. Fraudsters love it because they can con victims and get their money right away. And Western Union has always been a favorite choice of fraudsters that want to get paid right away. It always seemed like Western Union is a sure thing. Fraudsters counted on […]
New ScamBaiting Tool Totally Wrecks Fraudsters
It was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to enlist the help of robots in the fight against fraud. And a New Zealand security company, Netsafe, has done just that. They developed a massively creative artificial intelligence program to turn the tables on scammers that send phishing emails. The results are […]
International Fraud Awareness Week
Hundreds of organizations from around the world are banding together to educate and spread fraud awareness this week during International Fraud Awareness Week. More than 350 organizations (including PointPredictive) are spending this week holding training seminars, educating employees or inviting fraud experts to speak to their customers about the impacts of fraud and how to […]
FBI Reports Home Closing Wire Fraud Is Spiking
There is explosive growth in wire fraud and it is coming from the most unlikely places – home closings. The FBI is reporting an explosive increase in wire related fraud where hackers infiltrate real estate agents email accounts, send fake emails and convince homebuyers to wire hundreds of thousands of dollars to their accounts with […]
Study Shows Lenders Have Highest Cost of Fraud
The lending industry has a higher cost of fraud than any other industry; that includes auto lenders, mortgage lenders, digital lenders and bank lenders. In their 2017 True Cost of Fraud study, LexisNexis interviewed 1,196 executives across hundreds of e-commerce merchants, banks and lenders and determined that lenders spent $2.82 in cost, fees, and interest […]
Data Breach Index Is Going Off A Cliff in 2017
Poor internal security practices are taking a toll. Gemalto tracks data breaches across the globe each day, and they are raising the warning flag. The Gemalto Breach Index was released this week and it points to a massive uptick in breaches. More data was stolen the first half of 2017, then the entire previous year. […]