Financial Fraud Evolves As Fraudsters Ramp Up Their Attacks

Cybercriminals are stepping-up to the surge in opportunities for financial fraud. The new products and services that financial institutions (FIs) offer to compete for customers, gives fraudsters new avenues to exploit. Expanding banking options give FIs the ability to battle for customers with their marketing approach. But for many FIs and their clients, bad actors are also responding to these banking options. For all the wrong reasons, they too appreciate additional channels for banking, but only as an opportunity to expand their fraudulent attacks. READ FULL STORY

Shimming Right Along To Skim Your Payment Card Number

By now, most of us have at least one or two EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) cards. These are the payment cards that were touted as far more secure than the ones with the magnetic strips on the backs. And indeed, if you ask Visa these cards have resulted in a 75% decrease in fraud in the three years since they were introduced. Cybercriminals are of course finding ways to take advantage of the EMV cards too. Now, there are reports of a new way to skim. READ FULL STORY

Keeping Your Bank Account And Credit Cyber-Smart

Financial institutions and hacking go hand-in-hand. Hacking banks and their account holders is the most direct cash infusion a hacker can get…and they know it. According to Kaspersky Lab, attacks on ATMs alone hit an all-time high in 2017 with malware-as-a-service (MAAS) opportunities. With this service, even hacking “hacks” who have no cybercrime experience can watch an instructional “how to” video on how to target an ATM successfully. Guarding our finances with common sense protection is something we all need to do. READ FULL STORY

Accounts Drained By Zelle Smishing Scam

From time to time, scammers come up with a new tactic using new technology, new events, or whatever they can to continue tricking us into giving up our personal or confidential information. Over the past few years and with the increasing use of texting and SMS messaging, a newer one in the bag of tricks has been coined as “smishing.” Because it’s text, it often catches people off guard and causes them to react quickly, which is exactly what you shouldn’t do. READ FULL STORY

Unforgiving Scammers Seek Your Credentials When Applying For Student Loan Debt Forgiveness

We can all use a little financial help from time to time; especially those saddled with student loan debt. So, there’s no surprise that after the Student Loan Debt Relief Plan was announced and neared reality, an immediate uptick in fraud schemes surrounding this program started to appear. The FBI states scammers are working over time looking to take advantage of those individuals seeking this student forgiveness. Even if you are not looking for loan forgiveness with this program, you still may see phishing email about the program. READ FULL STORY