European Commission toughens laws on OTT providers
In recent years, over-the-top (OTT) providers such as Viber, WhatsApp and Skype have steadily increased their presence in the market and their popularity with consumers. Until now, OTT applications have been able to offer users free calling and messaging services via the internet with very little restriction and regulation compared to traditional telecoms companies. Having […]
TalkTalk customers are victims of fraud – AGAIN
In October 2015, TalkTalk suffered a “significant and sustained cyber-attack” that resulted in up to four million customers having their personal data stolen—including bank account numbers, sort codes and credit card details. It remains one of the worst cyber-attacks suffered by a British telecommunications company in recent history. However, it appears fraudsters have struck again. […]
Barclays to introduce new tracking measure to combat fraud
Barclays has pledged to introduce a new tracking service for UK customers that aims to stop stolen accounts being accessed abroad. The opt-in service will track a customer’s location using their mobile phone’s GPS signal and allow bank staff to check if someone is in the same country as their debit or credit card. By […]
Artificial Intelligence to help tackle fraud
Fraud poses a serious threat to banking and financial institutions globally. With the finances of consumers and corporations at stake, many organisations are investing in ground-breaking technology to help prevent fraud. One area of technological innovation that these institutions are exploring is artificial intelligence (AI). For example, MasterCard has recently announced the launch of Decision […]
Key fraud issues service providers need to know about
The Communications Fraud Control Association’s (CFCA) annual fraud survey provides telecoms fraud managers with an assessment of the key revenue threats from fraud. The latest survey identified the top frauds committed against service providers. $10.76 B (USD) – International Revenue Share Fraud (IRSF) International Revenue Share Fraud has been an issue for more than a […]
Customer data leaked in Three Mobile Hack
Mobile network provider Three has come under pressure after it was revealed that more than 130,000 customers had their account details stolen by cyber-criminals, who then used the information to fraudulently purchase high-value smartphone handsets in their victims’ names. The company, which has nine million customers in the UK, admitted that fraudsters had accessed its […]
Tesco Bank hit by major cyber-attack
Tesco Bank has been forced to repay £2.5 million worth of losses after 9,000 of its customers’ accounts were hacked by cyber-criminals, in what banking regulators are describing as an ‘unprecedented attack’. Whilst the National Crime Agency (NCA) begins its investigation in to the attack, it is believed that hackers were able to gain access […]
Fraud damaging UK economy
A report commissioned by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and fraud prevention group Get Safe Online has revealed from April 2015 to April 2016, cybercrime cost the UK economy a staggering £10.9 billion. The loss equates to £210 for every person over 16 living in the UK, however, it is feared the actual scale […]
New research shows true extent of fraud
The latest research from Financial Fraud Action (FFA) UK shows that a financial scam was committed every 15 seconds in the first six months of 2016. More than one million cases of fraud were recorded between January and June—a 53% increase on the same time period last year. The impact of fraudulent activity is having […]
The Risks of Social Engineering
According to the latest figures, Facebook—the world’s most popular social network—has 1.51 billion active mobile users. For fraudsters and cyber thieves, this is a huge market for potential social engineering fraud. Internet security firm BullGuard defines social engineering as “the use of deception and manipulation to obtain confidential information. It is a non-technical kind of […]