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Updated November 17th Related Posts Link to automotive form, business form
As Valentine’s Day approaches, hearts will melt, but some will inevitably be broken by romance scams. This season of love creates an opportune moment for scammers to prey on individuals feeling lonely or seeking connection. Financial institutions should take this time to warn customers about the heightened risks and encourage vigilance against fraud. In a tale as heart-wrenching as it is cautionary, a French woman named Anne was conned out of nearly $855,000 in a romance scam that lasted over a year. Believing she was communicating with Hollywood star Brad Pitt; Anne was manipulated by scammers who leveraged AI technology to impersonate the actor convincingly. Personalized messages, fabricated photos, and elaborate lies about financial needs made the scam seem credible. Anne’s story, though extreme, highlights the alarming prevalence and sophistication of romance scams in today’s digital age. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 70,000 Americans reported romance scams in 2022, with losses totaling $1.3 billion—an average of $4,400 per victim. These scams, which play on victims’ emotions, are becoming increasingly common and devastating, targeting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Financial institutions have a crucial role in protecting their customers from these schemes. The lifecycle of a romance scam Romance scams follow a consistent pattern: Feigned connection: Scammers create fake profiles on social media or dating platforms using attractive photos and minimal personal details. Building trust: Through lavish compliments, romantic conversations, and fabricated sob stories, scammers forge emotional bonds with their targets. Initial financial request: Once trust is established, the scammer asks for small financial favors, often citing emergencies. Escalation: Requests grow larger, with claims of dire situations such as medical emergencies or legal troubles. Disappearance: After draining the victim’s funds, the scammer vanishes, leaving emotional and financial devastation in their wake. Lloyds Banking Group reports that men made up 52% of romance scam victims in 2023, though women lost more on average (£9,083 vs. £5,145). Individuals aged 55-64 were the most susceptible, while those aged 65-74 faced the largest losses, averaging £13,123 per person. Techniques scammers use Romance scammers are experts in manipulation. Common tactics include: Fabricated sob stories: Claims of illness, injury, or imprisonment. Investment opportunities: Offers to “teach” victims about investing. Military or overseas scenarios: Excuses for avoiding in-person meetings. Gift and delivery scams: Requests for money to cover fake customs fees. How financial institutions can help Banks and financial institutions are on the frontlines of combating romance scams. By leveraging technology and adopting proactive measures, they can intercept fraud before it causes irreparable harm. 1. Customer education and awareness Conduct awareness campaigns to educate clients about common scam tactics. Provide tips on recognizing fake profiles and unsolicited requests. Share real-life stories, like Anne’s, to highlight the risks. 2. Advanced data capture solutions Implement systems that gather and analyze real-time customer data, such as IP addresses, browsing history, and device usage patterns. Use behavioral analytics to detect anomalies in customer actions, such as hesitation or rushed transactions, which may indicate stress or coercion. 3. AI and machine learning Utilize AI-driven tools to analyze vast datasets and identify suspicious patterns. Deploy daily adaptive models to keep up with emerging fraud trends. 4. Real-time fraud interception Establish rules and alerts to flag unusual transactions. Intervene with personalized messages before transfers occur, asking “Do you know and trust this person?” Block transactions if fraud is suspected, ensuring customers’ funds are secure. Collaborating for greater impact Financial institutions cannot combat romance scams alone. Partnerships with social media platforms, AI companies, and law enforcement are essential. Social media companies must shut down fake profiles proactively, while regulatory frameworks should enable banks to share information about at-risk customers. Conclusion Romance scams exploit the most vulnerable aspects of human nature: the desire for love and connection. Stories like Anne’s underscore the emotional and financial toll these scams take on victims. However, with robust technological solutions and proactive measures, financial institutions can play a pivotal role in protecting their customers. By staying ahead of fraud trends and educating clients, banks can ensure that the pursuit of love remains a source of joy, not heartbreak. Learn more
As data breaches become an ever-growing threat to businesses, the role of employees in maintaining cybersecurity has never been more critical. Did you know that 82% of data breaches involve the human element1 , such as phishing, stolen credentials, or social engineering tactics? These statistics reveal a direct connection between employee identity theft and business vulnerabilities. In this blog, we’ll explore why protecting your employees’ identities is essential to reducing data breach risk, how employee-focused identity protection programs, and specifically employee identity protection, improve both cybersecurity and employee engagement, and how businesses can implement comprehensive solutions to safeguard sensitive data and enhance overall workforce well-being. The Rising Challenge: Data Breaches and Employee Identity Theft The past few years have seen an exponential rise in data breaches. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 1,571 data compromises in the first half of 2024, impacting more than 1.1 billion individuals – a 490% increase year over year2. A staggering proportion of these breaches originated from compromised employee credentials or phishing attacks. Explore Experian's Employee Benefits Solutions The Link Between Employee Identity Theft and Cybersecurity Risks Phishing and Social EngineeringPhishing attacks remain one of the top strategies used by cybercriminals. These attacks often target employees by exploiting personal information stolen through identity theft. For example, a cybercriminal who gains access to an employee's compromised email or social accounts can use this information to craft realistic phishing messages, tricking them into divulging sensitive company credentials. Compromised Credentials as Entry PointsCompromised employee credentials were responsible for 16% of breaches and were the costliest attack vector, averaging $4.5 million per breach3. When an employee’s identity is stolen, it can give hackers a direct line to your company’s network, jeopardizing sensitive data and infrastructure. The Cost of DowntimeBeyond the financial impact, data breaches disrupt operations, erode customer trust, and harm your brand. For businesses, the average downtime from a breach can last several weeks – time that could otherwise be spent growing revenue and serving clients. Why Businesses Need to Prioritize Employee Identity Protection Protecting employee identities isn’t just a personal benefit – it’s a strategic business decision. Here are three reasons why identity protection for employees is essential to your cybersecurity strategy: 1. Mitigate Human Risk in Cybersecurity Employee mistakes, often resulting from phishing scams or misuse of credentials, are a leading cause of breaches. By equipping employees with identity protection services, businesses can significantly reduce the likelihood of stolen information being exploited by fraudsters and cybercriminals. 2. Boost Employee Engagement and Financial Wellness Providing identity protection as part of an employee benefits package signals that you value your workforce’s security and well-being. Beyond cybersecurity, offering such protections can enhance employee loyalty, reduce stress, and improve productivity. Employers who pair identity protection with financial wellness tools can empower employees to monitor their credit, secure their finances, and protect against fraud, all of which contribute to a more engaged workforce. 3. Enhance Your Brand Reputation A company’s cybersecurity practices are increasingly scrutinized by customers, stakeholders, and regulators. When you demonstrate that you prioritize not just protecting your business, but also safeguarding your employees’ identities, you position your brand as a leader in security and trustworthiness. Practical Strategies to Protect Employee Identities and Reduce Data Breach Risk How can businesses take actionable steps to mitigate risks and protect their employees? Here are some best practices: Offer Comprehensive Identity Protection Solutions A robust identity protection program should include: Real-time monitoring for identity theft Alerts for suspicious activity on personal accounts Data and device protection to protect personal information and devices from identity theft, hacking and other online threats Fraud resolution services for affected employees Credit monitoring and financial wellness tools Leading providers like Experian offer customizable employee benefits packages that provide proactive identity protection, empowering employees to detect and resolve potential risks before they escalate. Invest in Employee Education and Training Cybersecurity is only as strong as your least-informed employee. Provide regular training sessions and provide resources to help employees recognize phishing scams, understand the importance of password hygiene, and learn how to avoid oversharing personal data online. Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) MFA adds an extra layer of security, requiring employees to verify their identity using multiple credentials before accessing sensitive systems. This can drastically reduce the risk of compromised credentials being misused. Partner with a Trusted Identity Protection Provider Experian’s suite of employee benefits solutions combines identity protection with financial wellness tools, helping your employees stay secure while also boosting their financial confidence. Only Experian can offer these integrated solutions with unparalleled expertise in both identity protection and credit monitoring. Conclusion: Identity Protection is the Cornerstone of Cybersecurity The rising tide of data breaches means that businesses can no longer afford to overlook the role of employee identity in cybersecurity. By prioritizing identity protection for employees, organizations can reduce the risk of costly breaches and also create a safer, more engaged, and financially secure workforce. Ready to protect your employees and your business? Take the next step toward safeguarding your company’s future. Learn more about Experian’s employee benefits solutions to see how identity protection and financial wellness tools can transform your workplace security and employee engagement. Learn more 1 2024 Experian Data Breach Response Guide 2 Identity Theft Resource Center. H1 2024 Data Breach Analysis 3 2023 IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report
An employee who never uses a mobile device – personal or company-supplied – for business purposes is becoming a rare creature, indeed. Use of mobile devices is prevalent across virtually every industry, and the convenience and flexibility these devices offer professionals can be great for business. Provided, that is, those devices are secure. Mobile devices continue to be a significant source of data breaches, and a particular concern for anyone engaged in cyber security, according to eSecurity Planet’s Data Breach Roundup. Mobile-related data breaches stem from a range of circumstances, including loss or theft of devices, failure to use anti-malware, or failing to password-protect a device being used for business purposes. Devices can put your data at risk if an employee stores any proprietary information on a mobile device, or if workers use unsecured devices to access your network – even if you’ve taken steps to secure the network itself. Managing mobile devices can be one of the most challenging aspects of your overall cyber security program, but it’s imperative and – fortunately – not impossible. Minimizing mobile device risks CTIA, The Wireless Association, offers some guidelines for mobile device cyber security in its whitepaper “Today’s Mobile Cybersecurity: Blueprint for the Future.” The organization points to five cornerstones of mobile cyber security: Education about the importance of mobile security Devices with security features like anti-malware and anti-spam settings Strong, enforced network security policies Authentication for all network users Secure connections, from cloud to network Many tools exist to help your organization ensure secure footing on each of those cornerstones. CTIA cites options like risk management, security policies and monitoring. We would add to that list, and emphasize the importance of a data breach response plan that addresses the specific challenges and risks associated with a mobile-spurred data breach incident. While your organization can take strong, reasoned steps toward minimizing risks, it’s equally important to be ready to respond when a breach occurs. Mobile device security is sure to be a growing issue throughout 2014, as more people than ever use smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices to work more efficiently. With the right precautions, you can help ensure your employees work safely, as well. Learn more about our Data Breach solutions
In the days following the Target breach, both clarity and objectivity are in short supply. Everything that didn’t already exist became suddenly the cure-all – EMV being one. Retailers bristle, albeit in private – due to the asymmetry in blame they have come to share compared to banks – despite having equal ownership of the mess they have come to call payments. Issuers and Schemes scramble to find an empty deck chair on the Titanic, just to get a better view of the first of the lifeboats capsizing. Analogies aside, we may never fully eliminate breaches. Given an infinite amount of computing power and equal parts human gullibility – whether its via brute forcing encryption systems or through social engineering – a breach is only a matter of time. But we can shorten the half-life of what is stolen. And ensure that we are alerted when breaches occur – as fraudsters take care to leave little trace behind. Yet today our antiquated payments system offer up far too many attack vectors to a fraudster, that the sophistication in attempts of the likes of what we saw at Target, is the exception and not the norm. But are the retailers absolved of any responsibility? Hardly. Questions from a breach: According to Target, malware was found on Target’s PoS – presumably pushed by unauthorized outsiders or via compromised insiders. If so, how is it that unauthorized code managed to find its way to all or most of its PoS terminals? Could this have been uncovered by performing a binary or checksum comparison first, to ensure that files or packages are not tampered with, before they are deployed to the Point-of-Sale? Such a step could have certainly limited the attack vectors to a small group of people with administrative access – who would have the need to handle keys and checksums. Further, depending on the level of privilege accorded to every binary that gets deployed to the point of sale – Target could have prevented an unauthorized or remotely installed program from performing sensitive functions such as reading consumer data – either in transit or in RAM. That said – I am not sure if PoS manufacturers provide for such layered approach towards granting access and execution privileges to code that is deployed to their systems. If not, it should. Where DOES EMV come in? EMV helps to verify the card – indisputably. Beyond that, it offers no protection to either the consumer or the merchant. The risk of EMV, and it’s infallibility in the eyes of its true believers, is that it can lull the general public in to a sense of false security – much like what we have now under Reg E and Reg Z. With EMV, PAN and PIN continues to be passed in the clear, unencrypted. Retailers could deploy EMV terminals and still be riddled like cheese by fraudsters who can siphon off PANs in transit. Fraudsters who may find it nearly impossible to create counterfeit cards, instead will migrate online where inadequate fraud mitigation tools prevail – and those inadequacies will force both banks and retailers to be heavy handed when it comes to determining online fraud. Friction or Fraud should not be the only two choices. Solving Card Not Present Fraud: There are no silver bullets to solve Card Not Present fraud. Even with EMV Chip/Pin, there is an opportunity to put a different 16 digit PAN on the front of the card versus the one that is on the magstripe/chip. (I am told that Amex does this for its Chip/pin cards.) The advantage is that a fraudster using a fraudulently obtained PAN from the chip for an e-commerce purchase will standout to an card issuer compared to the legit customer using a different PAN on the front of the card for all her e-commerce purchases. This maybe one low tech way to address CNP fraud alongside of an EMV rollout. But if asking a consumer to enter his Zipcode or show his ID was enough for retail purchases, there exists equivalent friction-bound processes online. Authentication services like 3-D Secure are fraught with friction, and unfairly penalize the customer and indirectly – the retailer and issuer, for its blind attribution of trust in a user provided password or a token or a smart card reader. Where it may (in some cases) undeniably verifies consumer presence, it also overwhelms – and a customer who is frustrated with a multi-step verification will simply shop somewhere else or use Paypal instead. Ever had to input your Credit Card Verification code (CVV2 or CVC2) on an Amazon purchase? Me neither. Fraud in connected commerce: As connected devices outnumber us, there needs to be an approach that expands the notion of identity to look beyond the consumer and start including the device. At the core, that is what solutions like 41st Parameter – an Experian company, focuses on – which enables device attributes to collectively construct a more sophisticated indicator of fraud in an e-commerce transaction – using 100 or so anonymous device attributes. Further it allows for more nuanced policies for retailers and issuers, to mitigate fraud by not only looking at the consumer or device information in isolation – but in combination with transactional attributes. As a result, retailers and issuers can employ a frictionless, smarter, and more adaptive fraud mitigation strategy that relies less on what could be easily spoofed by a fraudster and more on what can be derived or implied. If you want to know more why this is a more sensible approach to fighting fraud, you should go here to read more about 41st Parameter. Remnants from a breach: Even though the material impact to Target is still being quantified, little doubt remains as to the harm done to its reputation. Target RED card remains largely unaffected, yet it is but a fleeting comfort. Though some, thus had been quick to call decoupled debit a more secure product, those claims choose to ignore the lack of any real consumer protection that is offered alongside of these products. Though Reg E and Reg Z have been largely instrumental in building consumer trust in credit and debit cards, they have also encouraged general public to care less about fraud and credit card security. And this affects more than any other – MCX, whose charter calls for reduction of payment acceptance costs first, and to whom – decoupled debit offered a tantalizing low cost alternative to credit. But when it launches this year, and plans to ask each customer to waive protections offered by Reg E and Reg Z and opt for ACH instead – those consumers will find that choice harder to stomach. Without offering consumers something equivalent, MCX Retailers will find it exceedingly difficult to convince customers to switch. Consumer loyalty to retailer brands was once given as the reason for creating a retailer friendly payment backbone, but with Target’s reputation in tatters – that is hardly something one can bank on these days – pun intended. Where does this leave us? To be completed… This blog post was originally featured at: http://www.droplabs.co/?p=964
According to Experian Marketing Services’ holiday peak week analysis, social media proved to be a key research tool for holiday shoppers and a crucial driver of traffic to retail Websites. Based on a comparison of upstream search traffic to leading retail Websites with the Hitwise Retail 500, social networking sites increased their share of traffic by a relative 46 percent year over year during the week ending November 30. Social networking Websites with highly visual content, such as Instagram and YouTube, saw dramatic year-over-year increases. This trend provides a significant opportunity for retailers to customize cross-channel marketing strategies and provide a more personal experience for the consumer. View our recent Webinar: Unique insights on consumer credit trends and the impact of consumer behavior on the economic recovery Source: Experian Marketing Services reveals top four holiday shopping trends from Thanksgiving weekend