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Finance

Two suspects skim cards at the ATM door

Dan Kaplan February 08, 2012

Two men have been charged with applying a new take on ATM skimming fraud -- placing the data-stealing device on the card reader at the door, not on the actual cash machine.

MasterCard announces product future around EMV

Greg Masters February 07, 2012

The EMV standard, widely considered an effective way to curb counterfeit card fraud because it requires a microchip to be embedded in a credit or debit card or on a mobile device, is gradually picking up steam in the U.S.

SEC accuses Latvian man of hacking brokerage accounts

Dan Kaplan January 31, 2012

The federal Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Latvian man with participating in a scheme that manipulated the value of more than 100 New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq stocks.

Visa advises on more secure credit card transactions

Dan Kaplan January 16, 2012

Visa has issued best practices that detail how retailers, card issuers and processors can upgrade their credit card transaction technology to a chip-based model, so to avoid burdensome complexity, cost and time to market.

Secret Service charges Romanian man with ATM fraud

Dan Kaplan January 09, 2012

A Romanian citizen, with an expired U.S. visa, has been arrested on charges of serving as the "installer" of skimming devices on some 40 ATMs in the New York City area.

Counterfeit card maker pleads in ATM skimming bust

Dan Kaplan December 21, 2011

A 21-year-old Connecticut woman on Tuesday pleaded guilty to participating in an ATM skimming operation between February and July, the U.S. attorney's office in Connecticut said.

NYC authorities charge 55 in cyber fraud, ID theft ring

Angela Moscaritolo December 19, 2011

The defendants were part of a coordinated operation that resulted in the theft of more than $2 million from JP Morgan Chase Bank, TD Bank, Citibank, Discover and American Express.

Court tosses claims against Heartland Payment over breach

Angela Moscaritolo December 13, 2011

After more than two years of litigation, a U.S. District judge has dismissed nine of the 10 causes of action brought forth as part of a class-action lawsuit by nine banks.

Paying dividends: Financial Services Roundtable

Illena Armstrong December 01, 2011

While the financial services industry traditionally has been quicker to embrace cybersecurity than other verticals, the challenges it faces, like meeting compliance and deterring fraud, never let up.

Former UBS banker sentenced for fraud

Dan Kaplan November 30, 2011

A former bank executive has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for committing 84 fraudulent wire transfers that deposited $673,000 of UBS Securities funds into his personal accounts.

Three indicted in New York on ATM skimming charges

Dan Kaplan November 22, 2011

Two of the three men accused of swiping the debit card credentials of 1,490 ATM users in Manhattan remain behind bars. The other defendant is at large.

ACH debit transfer emails leading to malware

Angela Moscaritolo November 10, 2011

Attackers have been circulating a trojan via email messages with subjects such as "ACH payroll payment was not accepted by Central Trust and Savings Bank."

Banker trade group warns of phishing uptick

Angela Moscaritolo October 27, 2011

Cybercriminals typically ramp up their phishing efforts during the holiday season and following natural disasters, according to the American Bankers Association.

TD Ameritrade settles lawsuit over major breach

Dan Kaplan October 10, 2011

While TD Ameritrade maintains that no identity theft resulted because of a 2007 breach, it has decided to compensate customers "in the interest of helping ease" their concerns.

Couple files suit against Citigroup over breach

Dan Kaplan October 10, 2011

A couple from New York state is seeking class-action status for a lawsuit against Citigroup, alleging that the third-largest U.S. bank has "taken no steps" to protect victims in the wake of a massive data breach, according to reports. Citi admitted in June that 360,083 accounts - about 1.5 percent of its card customer base - were compromised in the attack, in which hackers infiltrated the online banking platform, Citi Account Online, and viewed customer account numbers and contact information.The plaintiffs, Kristina and Steven Orman of Northport, N.Y., filed the suit on Friday in response to fraudsters allegedly charging their credit cards and stealing money from their bank accounts.

More than 100 charged in ID theft ring

Angela Moscaritolo October 10, 2011

The organized structure of a huge identity theft operation, based in New York, allowed members to make millions in profits.

Cutting the red tape: SC Roundtable

Illena Armstrong October 03, 2011

As agencies are forced to do more with less, government security pros at a recent SC Magazine Roundtable discussion said they are being challenged to fight emerging threats and secure new technologies.

Countrywide insider gets eight months in prison for theft

Angela Moscaritolo September 28, 2011

A senior analyst at Countrywide Financial was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution after pleading guilty to his role in a scam to steal personal data of customers.

Official: FBI investigating 400 bank account takeovers

Dan Kaplan September 19, 2011

Despite fresh guidance and quicker fraud detection, the FBI actively is investigating more than 400 cases of corporate bank account takeovers, an official told federal lawmakers last week. Gordon Snow, the FBI's assistant director of the cyber division, told a House Financial Services subcommittee that these cases, in which criminals initiate unauthorized Automated Clearing House and wire transfers from seized accounts belonging to mostly small and midsize businesses, have resulted in the attempted theft of more than $225 million and actual losses of around $85 million. In his remarks, Snow also discussed risks related to ATM skimming, mobile banking and supply chain compromise.

Microsoft adds "major" update to detect Zeus trojan

Dan Kaplan September 15, 2011

Microsoft has introduced a "fairly major" update to its Malicious Software Removal Tool to detect and kill infections of the insidious and constantly morphing data-stealing malware family known as Zbot, or Zeus. Since the software giant first added detection for Zeus last October, hundreds of thousands of Windows PCs have been expunged of the threat, prominent in banking and e-commerce fraud. But as Zeus, which recently merged code bases with SpyEye, continues to acquire advanced evasion capabilities, Microsoft has had to fight "sneakiness with sneakiness," according to a blog post on Wednesday. The company introduced the update as part of its monthly security patches, released on Tuesday.

Hacker "soldier" steals $3.2 million from U.S. companies

Angela Moscaritolo September 15, 2011

Researchers at Trend Micro say they have been hot on the tracks of a corporate hacker, and now they are turning over their findings to U.S. law enforcement.

Breaking down the updated FFIEC guidance

Sarah Fender, vice president, PhoneFactor September 15, 2011

As attackers have found a way to break traditional online banking security controls, recently issued guidelines offer some new advice for financial institutions.

Programming vulnerability exposes retiree data

Angela Moscaritolo August 30, 2011

A database programming error exposed the personal information of tens of thousands of retirement plan enrollees at investment planning firm Lincoln Financial Group.

Criminals abusing Amazon cloud to spread SpyEye

Angela Moscaritolo July 29, 2011

Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3) is being used to host malicious sites distributing the nefarious banking trojan.

Senate hearing set to update anti-hacking law

Angela Moscaritolo July 25, 2011

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee next week plans to hold a hearing focused on updating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), a national anti-hacking law first enacted in 1984 that makes it illegal to access government or financial institution computers without authorization. A White House cybersecurity legislative plan to Congress, released in May, proposed broadening the scope of CFAA and increase penalties under the statute. Witnesses for the hearing are scheduled to include James Baker, associate deputy attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, and Pablo Martinez, deputy special agent in charge of the Criminal Investigative Division of the U.S. Secret Service. The hearing is planned for 10 a.m. on Aug. 3 and can be viewed online.

Morgan Stanley client data goes missing

Angela Moscaritolo July 08, 2011

The personal information of tens of thousands of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney investment clients has gone missing.

FFIEC guidance addresses corporate account takeover

Dan Kaplan June 29, 2011

The long-awaited update to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) guidelines around authentication has been released.

U.S. lead on huge phishing ring receives 13 years in prison

Dan Kaplan June 28, 2011

A Los Angeles man has earned considerable time behind bars after serving as the U.S. head of a phishing operation that stole more than $1 million from the customers of two banks.

Bitcoin currency exchange compromised, database stolen

Angela Moscaritolo June 20, 2011

The largest Bitcoin currency exchange market, Mt.Gox, is currently offline after suffering a cyberattack that caused the market to crash.

New trojan aims to steal Bitcoin virtual currency

Angela Moscaritolo June 17, 2011

Criminals are targeting the digital currency Bitcoin with new malware designed to steal victims' online wallets, several security firms warned this week.