Financial Crime & Fraud


The European Banking Authority favours arbitrary box-ticking over data innovation

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently proposed new rules that would require payment card operators to enforce additional security measures, such as passwords or security tokens, for all online transactions over €10, aimed at fraud prevention. This is a clumsy solution to a problem that is already being addressed by far more sophisticated means, argues Nick Wallace, senior policy analyst at Centre for Data Innovation, and policymakers should reject the EBA’s proposal.

Trend Watch 2017: Payments Year in Review

Paybefore’s first-ever payments year-in-review report, sponsored by The Bancorp, is available now. Offering an in-depth look at key trends and the Top 10 payments stories from 2016 that will continue to shape the industry in 2017 and beyond, this must-have resource examines everything influencing the industry from the CFPB and Uber to Brexit and Trump and much more.

Cyren sounds siren over Bitcoin siphon scam

US-based internet security firm Cyren has discovered an outbreak of malware which is stealing passwords as well as Bitcoin from cryptocurrency wallets on PCs. Avi Turiel, director of threat research at Cyren, says in a blog post this “versatile” keylogger malware is being delivered as an attachment to phony bank transfer emails, which inform the […]

Money rolls

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Industry views: ushering in a New Year

To kick off 2017, we asked industry leaders to tell us what happened in 2016 that will most affect their businesses and where they will be investing in 2017 and why.

PSR calls for crusade against payment scams

The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has started a co-ordinated industry-wide effort to tackle payment scams. The regulator today (16 December) published its response to a super-complaint issued by consumer watchdog Which?, about protection for people making authorised “push” payments. In its response the PSR outlines an approach that “will see regulators and industry commit […]

Inside job

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Hackers hold Valartis Bank customers to Bitcoin ransom

Customers of Valartis Bank in Liechtenstein are being held to ransom by hackers, according to German tabloid Bild. The blackmailers are demanding 10% of their account balances in Bitcoin or the customers face their personal details being sent to the media and financial watchdogs. An unusual threat but the hackers might feel the bank’s customers, […]

NatWest trials BioCatch behavioural biometrics tech

UK-based high street bank NatWest (part of the RBS group) has trialled the BioCatch behavioural biometrics technology for business customers and is planning to pilot the solution for retail clients next year.

Cash back after Bangladesh Bank cyber hack

Bangladesh’s central bank is hoping to get back $30 million more of the $81 million stolen from its account at the New York Federal Reserve in February, according to Reuters. As Banking Technology reported earlier this year, Bangladesh Bank said a total of $101 million was “wrongly transmitted”, of which $20 million went to a […]

Blacklisted

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 analytics and anti-fraud software) and the forces of evil. Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Latin American banks turn to Swift for crime compliance

Eight central banks in Latin America have adopted Swift’s financial crime compliance solutions to combat financial crime. The central banks of Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti and Paraguay, have implemented the solutions, including Swift’s KYC registry and sanctions screening. Some of the banks have also endorsed the adoption of the KYC […]

European Association for Biometrics conference: exciting times ahead

European Association for Biometrics (EAB) has recently conducted a one-day seminar in London on what’s hot in the world of European banking biometrics. The seminar was supported by Banking Technology and hosted by Citi. It gathered a good haul of UK banks, including Lloyds, Santander, Virgin Money, Tesco Bank, Metro Bank and RBS and TSB.

Top fintech stories this week – 21 October 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Bank of Ireland in major tech revamp EXCLUSIVE. Accenture and Capgemini working on Project Omega. Trouble in the R3 paradise? Thinking about time and money. Millions at risk from India ATM hack Debit cards in danger due to […]

Millions at risk from India ATM hack

ATMs at some of India’s biggest banks have suffered a malware attack, with around 3.2 million debit cards now at risk. Most of the affected cards belong to HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and Yes Bank. The malware potentially means unauthorised individuals can get access to the data on debit cards […]

Blockchain.info gets hacked

Bitcoin wallet provider Blockchain.info has been the victim of a hack attack on its DNS servers. It experienced an outage for several hours while under attack, and Peter Smith, the CEO and co-founder, says its internal systems “alerted our infrastructure team who immediately began to assess the attack” but it “became clear the attackers gained […]

Mala Fide Intentions

Our new series of thrillers – produced and directed by CustomerXPs and Banking Technology – narrate the tales of the fight between the forces of good (the Clari5 fraud prevention software) and the forces of evil (fraudsters). Based on real events and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat!

Lloyds can hear a Pindrop with anti-fraud tech

Lloyds says it is set to become the “first” organisation in Europe to introduce new fraud prevention technology, helping protect its 30 million customers from telephone fraudsters. The patented “Phoneprinting”, developed by call centre fraud firm Pindrop, creates an “audio fingerprint” of each call by analysing 147 unique call features – such as location, background […]

Wells Fargo fined $185m for fake bank account scam

Fake it until you make it… unless you get caught. Employees at Wells Fargo have been found guilty of creating millions of fake bank accounts and credit card numbers over the past five years, as an unsubtle attempt to boost sales figures. For this illegal activity, the bank has been fined $185 million, including a […]

Swift admits attacks are “here to stay” – so what can banks do?

There’s a cultural misconception that security equals lockdown in the financial sector; disclosure runs counter to that perception. Banks are less inclined to share intimate details of attacks because they don’t want to damage market confidence and that makes cyber security a major challenge for the sector. Swift has recently sent a letter out to customers […]

Swift slow on strong security say execs

Current and former executives and managers of Swift, say for years the organisation suspected there were weak points in the way smaller banks used its messaging terminals – but did not address the issues, according to Reuters. In a lengthy investigation by Reuters, sources say that until February, “when hackers tried to steal nearly $1 […]

ACI Worldwide integrates Ethoca Alerts for payments gateway

ACI Worldwide will integrate Ethoca’s service, Ethoca Alerts, into its UP eCommerce Payments solution, making it available to payment service providers (PSPs) worldwide. The integration gives PSPs, acquirers, processors and their merchant customers a means to “bolster” their fraud defences with card issuer-confirmed fraud and customer dispute data. Keith Briscoe, chief marketing officer, Ethoca, says […]

Money Router the troubleshooter for London crime

UK-based Route Trading is to unveil Money Router – a solution designed to tackle the problem of “illicit money transfers taking place” in London. Launching on 27 September, Route Trading says the new software enables banks to reduce the risks involved in home remittance. The firm says the solution can “strengthen the safety of global […]

Kyc.com and Dow Jones team up for compliance drive

Kyc.com is partnering with Dow Jones, Exiger and Regulatory DataCorp (RDC) to drive standardisation and compliance for Know Your Customer (KYC) processes. The alliance plans to deliver an end-to-end KYC process integrating compliance, onboarding, sanctions, screening, negative media searches and client risk assessment across regulatory regimes and multiple jurisdictions. Joel Lange, managing director of Dow […]

Oracle’s Micros POS network hacked

Oracle’s global network of 330,000 point-of-sale (POS) payment systems has been hacked by a Russian organised cybercrime group. The breach occurred on the network run by Micros Systems, which Oracle bought in 2014. The incident was first picked up by computer security expert Brian Krebs, who contacted Oracle for comment. The firm acknowledged it has […]

Thieves steal $72m from Hong Kong Bitcoin exchange

It’s all gone wrong in Hong Kong as about $72 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen from the Bitfinex exchange platform. Nearly 120,000 units have been pilfered making it the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is one of the largest exchanges for Bitcoin, and according to Reuters is known in the […]

Interview: Rivi Varghese, CEO of CustomerXPs Software

Banking is going digital and instantaneous, which is great news for customers. But it is also a great headache for banks, as fraud is going that way too – the money can disappear into fraudsters’ virtual pockets with a blink of an eye, anytime, anywhere. At the same time, the real-time capabilities of new solutions […]

HSBC dodges US money laundering charges

HSBC has escaped charges of money laundering by US officials due to fears by the Department of Justice (DOJ) it might create a “global financial disaster”. A US Congressional report shows that UK officials, including Chancellor George Osborne, used their clout to warn the US it could lead to market unrest. According to the BBC, […]

Three ex-Barclays staff convicted in Libor rigging trial

Three ex-Barclays workers have been found guilty of manipulating the Libor interest rate between 2005 and 2007. Jay Merchant was convicted unanimously at Southwark Crown Court in London of rigging the key financial rate. Jonathan Mathew and Alex Pabon were found guilty by majority verdict after a ten-week trial. They will be sentenced on Thursday […]

Top fintech stories this week – 1 July 2016

Catch up on Banking Technology’s top five fintech stories of the week – all in one place! Brexit threat to UK jobs at Visa Should I stay or should I go? Swift hackers steal $10m from Ukraine bank Massive attack. New challenger bank readies for launch in UK Atten-shun! UK military personnel, veterans and their […]

Hackers use access to Swift network to steal $10m from Ukraine bank

Hackers have used the Swift network to steal $10 million from an unnamed Ukrainian bank, according to an independent IT monitoring organisation that spoke to the Kyiv Post. This latest incident is part of a spate of thefts when the banks’ access to the Swift network was used to execute them. Recently, investigators said they […]

Japan raises security after ¥1.8bn taken from ATMs

Japan’s Seven Bank has improved security for ATM withdrawals following Japanese banks losing JPY 1.8 billion ($16.8 million) through fake overseas cards. Banks across the island nation are rushing to deal with the fraud, and Seven Bank which operates ATMs in the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, has cut its withdrawal limit to JPY 50,000 ($468) […]