4.8.16

Big spike in card fraud in Europe



There was a notable spike in card fraud in Europe last year, with the UK the worst hit, according to new data from FICO.
The tech company revealed that the UK experienced an 18% rise in card fraud over a 12-month period, resulting in losses worth approximately $118 million.
The UK is clearly a big target for fraudsters, as the second worst-hit countries were both Greece and Denmark – these two nations ‘only’ experienced a 5% rise in losses.
FICO stated that the main reasons for the rapid rise in card fraud in the UK are data breaches and online transactions.
It said that this is indicative of “the growth in this channel, the ease of accessibility to funds and lower risk for criminals, and the theft of personal data through cybercrime”.
Commenting on the findings, Kendrick Sands, a senior financial industry analyst at Euromonitor International, stated: “The further projected increase in online payments over the forecast period suggests additional security measures will be required throughout Europe.
‘If greater security measures are not adopted to combat ‘card not present’ fraud, the broader advance of card payments over paper alternatives could be negatively impacted.”
On the plus side, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal, all experienced a year over year decline in card fraud.
The latter, in particular, witnessed a sharp fall (-72%), which reflects the wider long-term trend of dwindling fraudulent activity in the country.
FICO said that this could be attributed to Portugal’s efforts to “fight against card fraud”.
To reduce the risk of fraud, WeLiveSecurity advises consumers to shred financial documents; be cautious when receiving allegedly legitimate banking emails; and to not share credit card information.

Rio Olympics 2016: the safe way to obtain tickets online


Author: Ondrej Kubovič, ESET IT Security Specialist

What you need to know before starting your Rio Olympics ticket hunt
Olympics for fraudsters. Don’t get fooled by criminals before Rio 2016

This year is the year of sporting fans. Especially over the last few months, they had the opportunity to move from one big sporting event to the next with few gaps between them. First, just before the summer break, sports fans enjoyed a full month of football during European championship, followed by exciting and often dramatic moments of the Tour de France, now their collective attention is already shifting towards Rio, venue of the next summer Olympic Games.

Unfortunately, these large sporting events are also ripe targets for fraudsters and cybercriminals. There have already been multiple reports of spam, scam and phishing campaigns orchestrated to take advantage of the ecstatic fans – one such warning being published in our Euro 2016 post.
And the Rio 2016 games are no exception, fraudsters are trying to lure unsuspecting victims into online ticketing deals that will leave them with neither money nor admission to the games.

To avoid this risk, we have prepared a short guide that will help fans obtain their tickets safely:
1.       Even before starting your ticket hunt, make sure your operating system and software are up to date, and that you are using a reliable security solution that protects against malicious attacks while browsing or online shopping.
2.       If the first condition is met, you can start looking for websites that offer tickets for the Olympic Games. We know, there are many and it is hard to distinguish the right ones. The most certain way is to find the authorized reseller in your country via the official list.
3.       However, if you have already browsed some other websites, consider checking whether or not your browser displays the “green-lock” icon in the address bar (where the URL is). If yes, this indicates that the certificate was assigned by a proper certification authority and that your data is protected. If not, the safety of your data may be at risk.
4.       Selling tickets on social networks is forbidden by the organizers, so if you don’t want to run into trouble at the venue, avoid purchases via this channel.
5.       If you’ve already bought your tickets, but have changed your mind, don’t try to resell them yourself. Instead, use the official channel created by the organizers on their official rio2016.com page. It provides you with all the necessary instructions, and if sold, you should be fully refunded with no additional costs.

Remember, all events that attract the attention of masses of fans are juicy targets for cybercriminals. So don’t fall for their tricks, protect your devices and use official and safe channels to get your tickets. Otherwise you might end up empty handed, with stolen money or even worse, lost credentials and sensitive information. Enjoy the Olympics safely.


1.8.16

Barclays launches voice recognition technology for telephone banking


When it comes to telephone banking, Barclays is looking to lead the way by enabling voice recognition technology for all of its customers.
This means that when it comes to the usual security process for this particular service, instead of typing in a password, customers will instead be verified by their voice.
While the bank has offered this technology for a few years now – to its Wealth customers, for example – this is the first time it has made it widely available.
Discussing the new measure, Barclays said that voice recognition technology will offer even greater security.
This, it said, was down to the fact that everyone’s voice is “as unique as their fingerprint, made made up of over 100 characteristics based on the physical configuration of the speaker’s mouth and throat”.
However, when it comes to passwords, which have the potential to be complex and hard to decipher, many people fail to adhere to best practice, opting for easy to remember passwords.
This means that these passwords, used to ‘protect’ various accounts and devices, are easy to crack, offering very little in the way of security.
Alternatives like passphrases, and indeed voice recognition technology, are considered to be much stronger.
“We have been testing it for a while to make sure it will work with the vast majority of people and that we won’t have a high rejection rate,” Barclays’ personal banking chief Steven Cooper was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.
In related news, Barclays reported last month that professionals working in the UK are less likely to keep their devices secure, compared to those in China, South Africa and Brazil.
The Barclays Digital Development Index said that the UK needs to invest more in digital technologies and skills, stating that is falling behind “digital tiger” economies like Estonia, South Korea and Sweden.