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Viruses come in all different forms, from the common cold to life threatening plagues. Computers are no different. Hackers try to break into banks at least once a day. RSA, a security division of EMC, is a premier provider of security solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Since February 2006, RSA has been tracking the Windows Sinowal Trojan. This virus has single handedly stolen the details of over 500,000 online bank accounts and credit and debit cards. This Trojan Virus installs itself on a user’s computer and steals all the information. RSA says “Sinowal Trojan is one of the most advanced pieces of crimeware ever created.”

More than 240,000 credit and debit cards have been compromised. This affects ecommerce businesses every day, as well as banking institutions all over the world. Most companies think they are safe because they have anti-virus software, but just having anti-virus software many not help stop this virus. The Sinowal virus uses a method known as “drive-by downloads.” Users can get infected without knowing if they visit a website that has been setup with the Sinowal code. Common websites include community sites such as Facebook or Myspace. Do you know what websites your employees are visiting? It only takes one person surfing the web. This virus has been around for over two years, and is maintained by a group of obviously very savvy hackers who would have had to create a very solid infrastructure to house the mass information collected. The software is hard to catch because new variations are constantly released.

Continue reading "The Sinowal Trojan Still Plagues Our Systems"

We all frequently read about various types of scams to look out for, warnings of Packet Sniffing, and stolen card numbers. The real scams to look for are the ones that are directly on your merchant account application. Fees seem to suddenly pop up after you have signed your agreement.

One of the most interesting scams that has come up frequently is related to hidden merchant fees. This scam entices merchants to apply for accounts at low rates with a brief quote. They conceal fees, rates, and many various extra charges. When applying for a merchant account, is important to stay away from advertisements that claim to have the lowest rates around. Some key fees to ask for are: discount rates, mid qualified rates (keyed rates), non qualified rates (rewards card and purchase card rates), transaction fees, setup fees, annual fees, statement fees, services fees, PCI Compliance fees, merchant club fees, and early termination fees.

Continue reading "What Hidden Merchant Account Fees Should You Watch Out For?"

In previous posts I’ve talked about identity theft and ways to prevent fraud, but are our banks doing enough to protect its customers? Recently thousands of consumers’ personal information was stolen from Wells Fargo. MicroBilt which is the self proclaimed “single source industry leader in risk management information” notified Wells Fargo of the breach caused by a stolen employee code. Wells Fargo declined to comment on what alerted MicroBilt. So how did Wells Fargo make this up to their customers? They offered them a one-year free subscription to their identity theft protection service. I feel this service should already be free and mandatory to all customers and not only to those who may have had their identity stolen.

In similar news, thieves made off with ATM PIN Codes and account numbers from Citibank ATMs. Does this mean that Citibank ATM PIN numbers were not encrypted like they were supposed to be? The bank has about 5,700 ATMs, owned and operated by Cardtronics Inc and Fiserv Inc, inside 7-Eleven stores across the United States. How were these hackers able to access the system? Citibank has refused to comment much like Wells Fargo.

Continue reading "Do the Big Banks Do Enough To Keep Identity Safe?"

In today’s economy, more and more people are turning to using credit cards. With this new onslaught of credit card users there comes a greater possibility of fraud. The payment card industry had made great progress in compliance and security. Visa and MasterCard are actively creating technology and guidelines to protect consumers and merchants alike.

Visa and MasterCard have developed ways to improve the security of online transactions. Verified By Visa and SecureCode allow the card holder and card issuer to authenticate each other. This is done by exchanging digital secure certificates. Card holders can be assured that they are dealing with a real merchant and conversely provide a merchant with proof of a real cardholder. A digitally signed record of the transaction is created. Most issuing banks encourage card holders to sign up for these programs and many online merchants give consumers the opportunity to sign up before they proceed with payment.

Continue reading "New Innovations Are Keeping Credit Card Information Secure"

With technology on the rise and our economy weakening more and more, scams are evolving within various industries. The merchant services industry is vulnerable to a variety of different scams.

About a month ago, a merchant contacted our company to set up a merchant account and began running thousands of dollars in transactions. After the first month of processing we received a call from a business owner claiming he received a credit card processing bill from us, but that he does not take credit cards. The imposter account was a SCAM! The fake purchases were made with stolen credit cards and deposited into bank accounts owned by the fake company. These guys generally run small transactions and fly under the radar. They also registered a domain name that is similar to that of the business they were impersonating.

How might this have been caught sooner? Merchants and consumers should check their credit reports frequently and report any suspicious activity. It is also helpful if companies look through the web to see if there are websites that resemble their own or use their business name.

Continue reading "Watch Out For Merchant Account Scams"

Even if you manage to keep your chargebacks below the 1/2 – 1% threshold, any chargeback claims – whether remedied or not – take up precious time researching what happened. I’m sure there are other ways you’d rather spend your time (like focusing on new sales). Continue reading "Preventing Chargebacks"

To keep your chargeback ratio in check you have to take a proactive role. You can actually prevent chargebacks from escalating – and counting towards your monthly allotment.

The most common categories for chargebacks include point-of-sale errors, customer disputes, and fraud – and within these categories are a multitude of possible reasons. Understanding the reasons provides insight into how you can keep chargebacks in the “soft” phase from becoming full-blown chargebacks.

Let’s take a look at the possible remedies for common chargeback claims, along with the reason codes assigned by Visa and MasterCard. Continue reading "Remedies for Chargebacks"

We’re here to help marketing and finance executives solve the biggest problems in your commerce model, and understand best practices associated with fraud management, customer retention and attrition. TM&S can help you build online revenue with our on-demand billing solution designed for recurring and real-time transactions. Manage fraud and minimize chargebacks with the highest levels of compliance and flexibility.