Advanced Address Verification (AAV) goes beyond AVS and checking the billing address on file with what the cardholder provided to also check the shipping address, email and phone number. This service is only available on American Express and due to its recent changes in March 2009 may or may not be supported by your gateway.
How Good Is It?
AAV+ is a real-time solution for merchants doing e-commerce, mail order or phone orders. AAV+ is not the same as AVS. AVS is checking the billing address on file with the Issuing Bank, AAV+ is checking the shipping address, email and phone number on file. The service is provided exclusively by American Express and is intended to check the billing and shipping address when the two addresses are different.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
The Fraud Practice Releases their Semi Annual Guide to Alternate Payments
Alternative Payments aren’t necessarily always an alternative anymore.
NEW JERSEY, March 17, 2009/Business Wire/- Alternative payments represent only a fraction of e-commerce total sales today but according to Javelin Strategy and Research, about 1/3 of all online retail transactions ($268 billion) are predicted to be alternative payments by 2013. The explosive growth of alternative payments can be attributed to consumer and regional preferences. As every sale counts in these economic times, it is now more critical than ever that e-merchants understand and offer payment choices based on consumer and regional preferences.
Most merchants view the alternative payment market as a limited competitive field with few real differentiators between the players. More often than not, merchants investigating alternative payments are limiting their discussion to ACH, PayPal, Amazon and Google Checkout. In fact there are a number of payment options and a rapidly growing number of service providers offering them. The Fraud Practice’s Guide to Alternate Payments identifies 8 categories of alternative payment solutions with over 100 service providers offering their services globally. The categories include credit card payments, ACH & bank payments, payment aggregators, credit-term providers, cash alternative providers, advertising/promotional providers, mobile payment providers and invoicing payment providers.
Not all alternative payment options will produce the same results, determining the right alternative payment options for your company means evaluating payment options based on regional support, consumer preference, customer base and return on investment (ROI).
Regional Support: There is no one payment option that is equally effective in all regions worldwide. Credit cards are accepted worldwide but while they have dominated the US and Western European eCommerce markets, they have not shown the same dominance in emerging markets such as Africa, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe. In these markets a merchant needs to support other payment options otherwise they will be limiting their potential customer base to only a small fraction of the overall population.
Consumer Preference: It is not enough to simply find an alternate payment method that is supported in the region you are doing business in; the payment method needs to be one that consumers in the region recognize, trust and want to use. In Germany credit cards are present and used, but they are not the preferred payment method. In Germany the preferred payment method is direct debit, Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren.
Customer Base: The best alternative payment option has little value if the supported customer base isn’t large enough to warrant the effort to integrate and support it. Evaluating a customer base should be done on two levels, potential and current. Consider China, 93% of the 1.3 billion person population has access to direct debit while according to China Daily there were just over 100 million credit cards in circulation in China as of June 2008. In contrast there were over 596 million mobile phone subscribers as of June 2008. In terms of potential the ranking would be direct debit, mobile phones than credit cards. In terms of current use the ranking would be direct debit, credit cards than mobile phones. Mobile payments offer excellent potential in China, but it is not the current preferred choice for paying for services in China. Does this mean you should not be looking at mobile payments? Not at all, in some regions mobile payments are the dominate payment method and 3 out the 5 top five alternate payment providers are working on plans to support mobile payments.
Return on Investment (ROI): The reasons why a merchant may implement alternative payments vary from access to markets, cost reduction, easier supportability to consumer preference. In a majority of cases, merchants are able to show a favorable ROI on integrating alternative payments in a timeframe that is more tactical than strategic. This is primarily attributed to increased sales from new consumer populations, lower costs than traditional credit cards and better fraud protection.
The Fraud Practice has created the Guide to Alternate Payments to help merchants, service providers and financial institutions to make more informed decisions on which alternative payment solutions and providers they should be considering. A Guide to Alternative Payments is a prepared research document, 60 pages in length, intended for organizations looking to gain an understanding on eCommerce alternative payment options. The Guide goes beyond a general market assessment to provide information businesses need to assess solution options and service providers. The Guide also includes easy-to-understand reference tables on regional service providers (over 80 service providers), preferences and capabilities. Readers should expect to gain:
NEW JERSEY, March 17, 2009/Business Wire/- Alternative payments represent only a fraction of e-commerce total sales today but according to Javelin Strategy and Research, about 1/3 of all online retail transactions ($268 billion) are predicted to be alternative payments by 2013. The explosive growth of alternative payments can be attributed to consumer and regional preferences. As every sale counts in these economic times, it is now more critical than ever that e-merchants understand and offer payment choices based on consumer and regional preferences.
Most merchants view the alternative payment market as a limited competitive field with few real differentiators between the players. More often than not, merchants investigating alternative payments are limiting their discussion to ACH, PayPal, Amazon and Google Checkout. In fact there are a number of payment options and a rapidly growing number of service providers offering them. The Fraud Practice’s Guide to Alternate Payments identifies 8 categories of alternative payment solutions with over 100 service providers offering their services globally. The categories include credit card payments, ACH & bank payments, payment aggregators, credit-term providers, cash alternative providers, advertising/promotional providers, mobile payment providers and invoicing payment providers.
Not all alternative payment options will produce the same results, determining the right alternative payment options for your company means evaluating payment options based on regional support, consumer preference, customer base and return on investment (ROI).
Regional Support: There is no one payment option that is equally effective in all regions worldwide. Credit cards are accepted worldwide but while they have dominated the US and Western European eCommerce markets, they have not shown the same dominance in emerging markets such as Africa, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe. In these markets a merchant needs to support other payment options otherwise they will be limiting their potential customer base to only a small fraction of the overall population.
Consumer Preference: It is not enough to simply find an alternate payment method that is supported in the region you are doing business in; the payment method needs to be one that consumers in the region recognize, trust and want to use. In Germany credit cards are present and used, but they are not the preferred payment method. In Germany the preferred payment method is direct debit, Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren.
Customer Base: The best alternative payment option has little value if the supported customer base isn’t large enough to warrant the effort to integrate and support it. Evaluating a customer base should be done on two levels, potential and current. Consider China, 93% of the 1.3 billion person population has access to direct debit while according to China Daily there were just over 100 million credit cards in circulation in China as of June 2008. In contrast there were over 596 million mobile phone subscribers as of June 2008. In terms of potential the ranking would be direct debit, mobile phones than credit cards. In terms of current use the ranking would be direct debit, credit cards than mobile phones. Mobile payments offer excellent potential in China, but it is not the current preferred choice for paying for services in China. Does this mean you should not be looking at mobile payments? Not at all, in some regions mobile payments are the dominate payment method and 3 out the 5 top five alternate payment providers are working on plans to support mobile payments.
Return on Investment (ROI): The reasons why a merchant may implement alternative payments vary from access to markets, cost reduction, easier supportability to consumer preference. In a majority of cases, merchants are able to show a favorable ROI on integrating alternative payments in a timeframe that is more tactical than strategic. This is primarily attributed to increased sales from new consumer populations, lower costs than traditional credit cards and better fraud protection.
The Fraud Practice has created the Guide to Alternate Payments to help merchants, service providers and financial institutions to make more informed decisions on which alternative payment solutions and providers they should be considering. A Guide to Alternative Payments is a prepared research document, 60 pages in length, intended for organizations looking to gain an understanding on eCommerce alternative payment options. The Guide goes beyond a general market assessment to provide information businesses need to assess solution options and service providers. The Guide also includes easy-to-understand reference tables on regional service providers (over 80 service providers), preferences and capabilities. Readers should expect to gain:
- An introduction to the types of solution options available and the service providers that offer them.
- An in-depth understanding of the market dynamics, vertical market preferences, regional preferences and reasons to implement these services.
- A discussion on emerging markets where alternative payments are flourishing
- A general introduction to the capabilities and services provided by the major players in each of the 8 solution option groups.
While the Guide is available for purchase, The Fraud Practice has added descriptions of the 8 alternate payment categories on their free public fraud library. The Fraud Library contains valuable information for merchants seeking information on fraud prevention techniques and eCommerce payments. Thousands of merchants have already turned to The Fraud Practice Fraud Library when they have sought, or needed expert advice on simple and complex Card Not Present (CNP) issues.
Will Economic Downturn lead to Increased Fraud?
Not all fraud increases in an economic downturn
Red Bank, March 2 - There have been a number of recent articles outlining how the economic downturn will result in increased fraud, which I believe have inaccurately portrayed the real fraud risks in an economic downturn. I am currently compiling a definitive article on the topic for broader release (internal fraud, friendly fraud, first and third party fraud, organized fraud) but would offer some counter arguments for feedback to some of the assumptions and predictions that are being presented in the press today.
In a recent article from The Wall Street Journal entitled "Small Businesses Face More Fraud in Downturn" the author makes the case that in an economic downturn there is a higher incidence of employee fraud. This actually is not entirely true, while there may be more attempts, the number of successful fraud cases decreases. In terms of underwriting risk, employee or internal fraud is more likely in times of boom than in bust. Why? Because employers aren't typically paying as close attention to the books and as long as cash flow is good the focus is on closing business.
What we are seeing in the press is how these fraud cases tend to be more exposed in bust times. Consider the recent investment ponzi scams that have come to light with Madoff and Stanford, these are not fraud scams that were perpetrated in a bust economy, they happened in the boom, and came to light in the bust. In times of economic downturns businesses are sharpening their pencils and digging into costs, expenses and cash flow and this tends to uncover internal fraud that may have been overlooked.
In another article found on Security Watch and written by Fortify Software the author theorizes that online fraud will increase by 33% in 2009 because fraudsters are being impacted by the ongoing economic credit crunch and will be selling card data for less money. In short their premise is that the fraudsters in the card reselling segment are experiencing higher competition for card data and are having to push more inventory to get the same financial yield. They cite the economic recession for the reduction in average cost for a stolen identity(card, cvv and expriration date). These identities have dropped from $15.00 18 months ago to $2.00 last October. While I can understand making a correlation to increased fraud due to increased and cheaper supplies of card data, I don't really buy the idea that this correlates to the economic rescission. The card data reselling market has become competitive, and the availability of compromised data is high, which means there is higher supply than demand today. I am not an economist, but I would be more inclined to believe that price points on compromised cards are falling due to simple supply and demand over the idea that the downturn in the economy is hurting the sales of card resellers.
Red Bank, March 2 - There have been a number of recent articles outlining how the economic downturn will result in increased fraud, which I believe have inaccurately portrayed the real fraud risks in an economic downturn. I am currently compiling a definitive article on the topic for broader release (internal fraud, friendly fraud, first and third party fraud, organized fraud) but would offer some counter arguments for feedback to some of the assumptions and predictions that are being presented in the press today.
In a recent article from The Wall Street Journal entitled "Small Businesses Face More Fraud in Downturn" the author makes the case that in an economic downturn there is a higher incidence of employee fraud. This actually is not entirely true, while there may be more attempts, the number of successful fraud cases decreases. In terms of underwriting risk, employee or internal fraud is more likely in times of boom than in bust. Why? Because employers aren't typically paying as close attention to the books and as long as cash flow is good the focus is on closing business.
What we are seeing in the press is how these fraud cases tend to be more exposed in bust times. Consider the recent investment ponzi scams that have come to light with Madoff and Stanford, these are not fraud scams that were perpetrated in a bust economy, they happened in the boom, and came to light in the bust. In times of economic downturns businesses are sharpening their pencils and digging into costs, expenses and cash flow and this tends to uncover internal fraud that may have been overlooked.
In another article found on Security Watch and written by Fortify Software the author theorizes that online fraud will increase by 33% in 2009 because fraudsters are being impacted by the ongoing economic credit crunch and will be selling card data for less money. In short their premise is that the fraudsters in the card reselling segment are experiencing higher competition for card data and are having to push more inventory to get the same financial yield. They cite the economic recession for the reduction in average cost for a stolen identity(card, cvv and expriration date). These identities have dropped from $15.00 18 months ago to $2.00 last October. While I can understand making a correlation to increased fraud due to increased and cheaper supplies of card data, I don't really buy the idea that this correlates to the economic rescission. The card data reselling market has become competitive, and the availability of compromised data is high, which means there is higher supply than demand today. I am not an economist, but I would be more inclined to believe that price points on compromised cards are falling due to simple supply and demand over the idea that the downturn in the economy is hurting the sales of card resellers.
Legislation in the works that could affect Future Trends in Fraud
New legislation may provide fraudsters with legal loopholes
Red Bank, Feb. 19/The FraudBlog Newsletter/ - The current economic crisis is affecting all of us, but could it also be creating new loopholes for fraudsters to exploit? You may be surprised to learn that some recent discussions could have a very tangible impact on fraud trends down the road.
According to the USA Today Article entitled "Job credit checks called unfair" by Thomas Frank on 2-13-2009, five states are considering laws that would restrict credit checks by employers. Amid the financial crisis U.S. states and government officials are calling to stop employers from unfairly screening out employees who can't pass a credit check. For many industries that have jobs with access to money this is a necessary step to lower risk from employees with access to money such as tellers, cashiers and finance officers. According to the Society for Human Resource Management about 43% of U.S. employers currently check job applicants for overdue payments on anything from mortgages and rent to credit cards and student loans. While there is no correlation of employee performance to bad credit, there is implicit risk of employees with financial problems potentially being more susceptible to committing some form of internal fraud if they have the access to financial resources. How real is this issue? If you recall our August 2008 newsletter, we reported 5 cases of employee fraud in that month alone, with 4 of those cases being embezzlement through the use of a company credit card (all cases were over $100,000 in losses) and one case of an employee perpetrated data breach.
Senator Chris Dodd is pushing legislation in the CARD ACT to change when application information can be posted into a consumer's credit file. His argument is based on his belief that the policies of credit card issuers to post information on application attempts, instead of account activations, causes card issuers to change the consumers risk exposure thus producing higher fees and rates charged to the consumer. Dodd stated, "Too many families are starting to rely upon on short-term, high-interest credit card financing to meet basic needs".
The most critical aspect of his plan is that the bill would prohibit providing information about newly opened accounts before they are activated by customers. If this policy were implemented it could create an increase in credit card fraud applications. For example, a fraudster could open 10 credit card accounts, but waits to activate them until they receive all of the cards. The second through the tenth issuer would have no idea the fraudster had already opened the other accounts when they processed these applications. This could lead to significant increases in Identity Theft per case losses.
Red Bank, Feb. 19/The FraudBlog Newsletter/ - The current economic crisis is affecting all of us, but could it also be creating new loopholes for fraudsters to exploit? You may be surprised to learn that some recent discussions could have a very tangible impact on fraud trends down the road.
According to the USA Today Article entitled "Job credit checks called unfair" by Thomas Frank on 2-13-2009, five states are considering laws that would restrict credit checks by employers. Amid the financial crisis U.S. states and government officials are calling to stop employers from unfairly screening out employees who can't pass a credit check. For many industries that have jobs with access to money this is a necessary step to lower risk from employees with access to money such as tellers, cashiers and finance officers. According to the Society for Human Resource Management about 43% of U.S. employers currently check job applicants for overdue payments on anything from mortgages and rent to credit cards and student loans. While there is no correlation of employee performance to bad credit, there is implicit risk of employees with financial problems potentially being more susceptible to committing some form of internal fraud if they have the access to financial resources. How real is this issue? If you recall our August 2008 newsletter, we reported 5 cases of employee fraud in that month alone, with 4 of those cases being embezzlement through the use of a company credit card (all cases were over $100,000 in losses) and one case of an employee perpetrated data breach.
Senator Chris Dodd is pushing legislation in the CARD ACT to change when application information can be posted into a consumer's credit file. His argument is based on his belief that the policies of credit card issuers to post information on application attempts, instead of account activations, causes card issuers to change the consumers risk exposure thus producing higher fees and rates charged to the consumer. Dodd stated, "Too many families are starting to rely upon on short-term, high-interest credit card financing to meet basic needs".
The most critical aspect of his plan is that the bill would prohibit providing information about newly opened accounts before they are activated by customers. If this policy were implemented it could create an increase in credit card fraud applications. For example, a fraudster could open 10 credit card accounts, but waits to activate them until they receive all of the cards. The second through the tenth issuer would have no idea the fraudster had already opened the other accounts when they processed these applications. This could lead to significant increases in Identity Theft per case losses.
Layoffs? Watch Out.
Don't learn the hard way about what a disgruntled employee is capable of doing.
Red Bank, Feb. 2/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- While it isn't easy to do layoffs and it is uncomfortable for most managers to perform; don't let your discomfort be the cause of a potential hack or malware attack from a disgruntled employee. As ZDNet's Larry Dignan reported, Fannie Mae almost learned the hard way what a disgruntled employee could do to a company. In this case a contractor, who had root access to their servers, was let go recently but his root level access was not removed. This individual planted malware that would have shut down all of their systems. The impact would have been enormous.
The following is not intended to be a complete list. It is a starting point for managers to start thinking about protecting their company's exposure in the sensitive area of payments and fraud. If you are letting people go that work in your payments and fraud departments you should consider:
Red Bank, Feb. 2/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- While it isn't easy to do layoffs and it is uncomfortable for most managers to perform; don't let your discomfort be the cause of a potential hack or malware attack from a disgruntled employee. As ZDNet's Larry Dignan reported, Fannie Mae almost learned the hard way what a disgruntled employee could do to a company. In this case a contractor, who had root access to their servers, was let go recently but his root level access was not removed. This individual planted malware that would have shut down all of their systems. The impact would have been enormous.
The following is not intended to be a complete list. It is a starting point for managers to start thinking about protecting their company's exposure in the sensitive area of payments and fraud. If you are letting people go that work in your payments and fraud departments you should consider:
(Prior to them being notified) - perform an access assessment of the individual:
- What access did they have to sensitive data?
- How much do they know about your fraud settings and controls?
- Are they aware of weak spots in your systems?
(When you notify them) -perform a formal notification:
- Remind them of confidentiality agreements and their obligations.
- Have them sign off on the access assessment.
- Shut off their access to any corporate systems that have sensitive data or are a part of payment processing.
(After they have left) - perform audits:
- Look at anything they may have accessed in the weeks leading up to their departure for signs of abuse, misuse or unauthorized access.
- In the event of a hack, malware attack or complaint of credit card data breach, you should perform a cursory review of these personnel as part of your investigation.
I got you once, and I will get you again!
"If a fraudster or fraud ring can successfully perpetrate fraud, you can pretty much assume they will continue to do so until you stop them." D.Montague
Red Bank, Oct. 30 2008/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- While the article, "The Hackers Mindset - I did nothing Wrong" by Jon Swartz of USA Today is not new news, it can provide good insight into the makeup of a cybercriminal. It focuses primarily on the TJX hackers and provides the typical definition of a cybercriminal as being young, male and very computer savvy. However typical, I found the background story on Gonzales having been caught before so engrossing I decided to test the profile myself.
So I thought I would take a look at a couple of other major cyber crime cases. In the past 60 days there have been three very public and big cyber crime cases. In these cases the cybercriminal was young, all under 30, male and they were very computer savvy. (Albert Gonzales - TJX Breach, Ehud Tenenbaum - Direct Cash Management Breach, Vladimir Tsastsin- EstDomain)
In all three of these cases the cybercriminal had been caught doing this before. In 2 of the 3 cases, Gonzales and Ehud Tenenbaum these individuals were actually given lighter sentences for their first transgression by working with law enforcement after being caught.
In all of these cases when the cybercriminal was later presented with a weakness in a business's fraud controls or security measures they exploited them. Regardless of the fact that they had been caught before, they believed they wouldn't get caught again. In all three cases they had escalated the scope and level of their schemes.
Lesson learned, they don't learn their lesson.
Red Bank, Oct. 30 2008/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- While the article, "The Hackers Mindset - I did nothing Wrong" by Jon Swartz of USA Today is not new news, it can provide good insight into the makeup of a cybercriminal. It focuses primarily on the TJX hackers and provides the typical definition of a cybercriminal as being young, male and very computer savvy. However typical, I found the background story on Gonzales having been caught before so engrossing I decided to test the profile myself.
So I thought I would take a look at a couple of other major cyber crime cases. In the past 60 days there have been three very public and big cyber crime cases. In these cases the cybercriminal was young, all under 30, male and they were very computer savvy. (Albert Gonzales - TJX Breach, Ehud Tenenbaum - Direct Cash Management Breach, Vladimir Tsastsin- EstDomain)
In all three of these cases the cybercriminal had been caught doing this before. In 2 of the 3 cases, Gonzales and Ehud Tenenbaum these individuals were actually given lighter sentences for their first transgression by working with law enforcement after being caught.
In all of these cases when the cybercriminal was later presented with a weakness in a business's fraud controls or security measures they exploited them. Regardless of the fact that they had been caught before, they believed they wouldn't get caught again. In all three cases they had escalated the scope and level of their schemes.
Lesson learned, they don't learn their lesson.
Use your ATM PIN only at ATMs or you'll pay the price!
Always save your PIN for ATM transactions only!
Red Bank, Sept. 1 2008/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- Every time I speak publicly, or when I tell people what I do for a living, I get asked this question. My answer has always been to use your credit card or your debit card, as a credit card, but save your pin for ATM transactions only. For us in the business we generally understand our rights and level of protection, but I would imagine few of us really understand the actual legal rights and limits for each payment type.
If fraudsters strike, you often have stronger protection with credit cards than with debit cards. With credit cards, under federal law, you're liable for no more than $50 if fraud occurs, though most issuers don't hold you liable for even that much. With debit cards, your maximum exposure is $50 if you report it within 48 hours. Report it after two days, and you could be liable for up to $500. Take longer than 60 days, and you could be responsible for the entire dollar amount of fraud.
Red Bank, Sept. 1 2008/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- Every time I speak publicly, or when I tell people what I do for a living, I get asked this question. My answer has always been to use your credit card or your debit card, as a credit card, but save your pin for ATM transactions only. For us in the business we generally understand our rights and level of protection, but I would imagine few of us really understand the actual legal rights and limits for each payment type.
If fraudsters strike, you often have stronger protection with credit cards than with debit cards. With credit cards, under federal law, you're liable for no more than $50 if fraud occurs, though most issuers don't hold you liable for even that much. With debit cards, your maximum exposure is $50 if you report it within 48 hours. Report it after two days, and you could be liable for up to $500. Take longer than 60 days, and you could be responsible for the entire dollar amount of fraud.
When the Fraudster is Someone you Trust
Friendly fraud taken to new heights.
Red Bank, Aug. 15 2008/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- The number of articles related to internal fraud have been rising considerably over the past couple of months. If you are like most fraud managers, your focus has been on stopping the fraudster from coming in the door, and not paying attention to the fraudster lurking inside. It can be easy to overlook how easy it is for employees to copy down customer credit card information, to help a friend exploit a weakness in the companies systems or to directly steal from the company.
While I don't believe the individuals involved in these cases were criminals targeting these companies, I do believe they serve as a good example to putting in checks and balances to keep honest people honest...
To illustrate my point I have taken quotes from a recent case. These quotes were taken from the article "Former Sailor Gets 2 years for fraud with Navy Credit Card" by Austin Wright in the Virginia Post on August 10, 2008.
"I know that I'm a good person. I know that I made a bad decision," Gibbs said in court. "I'm aware of all my consequences.""Her supervisors encouraged this type of behavior," defense attorney David Price said in court. He elaborated after the sentencing that no one monitored what Gibbs and others were purchasing with the government-issued cards."For this to go on for as long as it did and for the amount of money that was involved - there's no excuse," Price said. "There are other people who didn't do their jobs right." Other cases in the news:
Customer Service Representative - An Alaska Airlines call center employee misused credit card data between August 2006 and June of 2008. When processing reservation changes, the employee allegedly diverted payments into her own personal bank account instead of the airline's. The fraud affects about 1,500 customers.
Receptionist - An Illinois Eye Center receptionist used patient information to obtain credit cards and then had the bills mailed to her home. Gast said the theft occurred from August until December of last year. Some of the victims didn't know their names had been used.
Mail Man - four counts of mail theft and one count of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service by using an agency credit card for personal use.
Administrative Assistant - charged more than $240,000 in personal expenses last year on a corporate credit card belonging to a pharmaceutical research and development company, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Federal prosecutors said she used the card to pay for a 1968 Ford Mustang and 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and to restore those vehicles. She also used company funds to pay for cosmetic surgery and a cruise vacation, a granite kitchen countertop, a residential air-conditioning unit and American Express gift cards..
Candidate for Sheriff - a candidate for the position of Navajo County sheriff, was arrested July 22 on charges of theft of a credit card and fraudulent use of a credit card, both felonies.
Bank Clerk - The clerk allegedly played a role in a conspiracy to embezzle funds from Sperry Marine Federal Credit Union by using other names to take out loans from the credit union.
Neighbor - Buellton California residents 47-year-old Karen Peterson and 49-year-old Debra Mangino are accused of stealing their one-time neighbor's mail and activating a credit card in his name.
Purchasing Agent - Navy sailor uses military credit card to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government. Defense and prosecution lawyers agreed this could have been prevented through minimal oversight. From 2006 to 2007, she used the card to buy 162 notebook computers, 65 big-screen televisions and 22 digital cameras, items she and an unnamed co-conspirator sold for cash.
Father - A New York man says he used his son's Social Security number to obtain credit cards and loans from several banks, and from a firm that gave him loans to buy two cars. The crimes occurred between 1997 and 2005.
Credit Card Fraud Officer - A former senior Sussex Police officer who used his force credit card to buy goods for himself has been ordered to pay nearly £100,000. Sorority Sister - Danielle Sue All, 29, is believed to have charged more than $2,000 on a Purdue University sorority adviser's card reported missing Aug. 5.
Secret Service Informant - charged with breaking into the computer systems of nine of the nation's largest retail companies and stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers.
Red Bank, Aug. 15 2008/The FraudBlog Newsletter/- The number of articles related to internal fraud have been rising considerably over the past couple of months. If you are like most fraud managers, your focus has been on stopping the fraudster from coming in the door, and not paying attention to the fraudster lurking inside. It can be easy to overlook how easy it is for employees to copy down customer credit card information, to help a friend exploit a weakness in the companies systems or to directly steal from the company.
While I don't believe the individuals involved in these cases were criminals targeting these companies, I do believe they serve as a good example to putting in checks and balances to keep honest people honest...
To illustrate my point I have taken quotes from a recent case. These quotes were taken from the article "Former Sailor Gets 2 years for fraud with Navy Credit Card" by Austin Wright in the Virginia Post on August 10, 2008.
"I know that I'm a good person. I know that I made a bad decision," Gibbs said in court. "I'm aware of all my consequences.""Her supervisors encouraged this type of behavior," defense attorney David Price said in court. He elaborated after the sentencing that no one monitored what Gibbs and others were purchasing with the government-issued cards."For this to go on for as long as it did and for the amount of money that was involved - there's no excuse," Price said. "There are other people who didn't do their jobs right." Other cases in the news:
Customer Service Representative - An Alaska Airlines call center employee misused credit card data between August 2006 and June of 2008. When processing reservation changes, the employee allegedly diverted payments into her own personal bank account instead of the airline's. The fraud affects about 1,500 customers.
Receptionist - An Illinois Eye Center receptionist used patient information to obtain credit cards and then had the bills mailed to her home. Gast said the theft occurred from August until December of last year. Some of the victims didn't know their names had been used.
Mail Man - four counts of mail theft and one count of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service by using an agency credit card for personal use.
Administrative Assistant - charged more than $240,000 in personal expenses last year on a corporate credit card belonging to a pharmaceutical research and development company, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Federal prosecutors said she used the card to pay for a 1968 Ford Mustang and 1969 Chevrolet Camaro and to restore those vehicles. She also used company funds to pay for cosmetic surgery and a cruise vacation, a granite kitchen countertop, a residential air-conditioning unit and American Express gift cards..
Candidate for Sheriff - a candidate for the position of Navajo County sheriff, was arrested July 22 on charges of theft of a credit card and fraudulent use of a credit card, both felonies.
Bank Clerk - The clerk allegedly played a role in a conspiracy to embezzle funds from Sperry Marine Federal Credit Union by using other names to take out loans from the credit union.
Neighbor - Buellton California residents 47-year-old Karen Peterson and 49-year-old Debra Mangino are accused of stealing their one-time neighbor's mail and activating a credit card in his name.
Purchasing Agent - Navy sailor uses military credit card to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government. Defense and prosecution lawyers agreed this could have been prevented through minimal oversight. From 2006 to 2007, she used the card to buy 162 notebook computers, 65 big-screen televisions and 22 digital cameras, items she and an unnamed co-conspirator sold for cash.
Father - A New York man says he used his son's Social Security number to obtain credit cards and loans from several banks, and from a firm that gave him loans to buy two cars. The crimes occurred between 1997 and 2005.
Credit Card Fraud Officer - A former senior Sussex Police officer who used his force credit card to buy goods for himself has been ordered to pay nearly £100,000. Sorority Sister - Danielle Sue All, 29, is believed to have charged more than $2,000 on a Purdue University sorority adviser's card reported missing Aug. 5.
Secret Service Informant - charged with breaking into the computer systems of nine of the nation's largest retail companies and stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
