Tag Archives: Fraud

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5 Ways Businesses Can Avoid Credit Card Fraud

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According to a March 2013 report from the Commerce Department, retail sales increased 1.1% in February to $421.4 billion, marking the biggest surge in the retail space since last September. Elevated sales numbers mean additional credit card transactions and, as a result, an increased risk for fraud.

A recent report from Javelin Strategy & Research found that credit card fraud has increased an alarming 87% since 2010 and accounted for a total loss of approximately $6 billion. Despite mounting evidence of this growing epidemic, loss as a result of credit card fraud has remained the proverbial elephant in the room for many businesses.

Organizations need to increase their awareness of this growing threat and the rather simple steps they can take to prepare themselves. The following are five tips for businesses leaders as they navigate through the economic climate in 2013 and beyond:

  1. Immediately deal with any breach. It’s critical to understand that even if all cautious, conservative steps are taken and the best payment processing security is installed, a breach can still occur. If it does, you must have detailed credit card sales records to refer back to as a means of retracing your steps. This will help in determining when and where the breach took place and therefore mitigate the potential for additional losses. A proper assessment of the initial attack may ultimately provide a trail back to the source of the breach.
  2. Maintain PCI Compliance. Not only is it against card brand regulations if you’re not Payment Card Industry (PCI)-compliant when accepting credit or debit cards, but it’s also an absolute must in today’s economic climate. Make certain your payment processing software security is current and is PA-DSS (Payment Application Data Security Standard)-certified, and that your business receives their PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) certification. PCI certification provides a level of confidence and assurance that a processor has followed and passed a robust set of best practices for securing the information being processed when credit card payments are made. There’s no silver bullet here. You have a responsibility to protect your customer’s credit card information, just like you should be protecting all of your customer data.The depth of the audit required will depend on your business volume and systems but a full PCI audit will offer a scorecard across your business’ payments environment, including all connected back-office applications, allowing you to make critical changes before security holes are exposed by thieves.
  3. Use end-to-end encryption for all sensitive data. End-to-end encryption (E2EE) essentially boils down to scrambling the data sent from one device to another. It starts with your payment capture devices, and goes all the way to the transaction being authorized. E2EE technology prevents the card account data from being stolen electronically and lessens the cost and impact for your business to become PCI-certified. A company’s mobile payment devices, credit card terminals, software applications, and online payment portals need built-in encryption functionality when transmitting customer information. Your company should select a payments provider that is technically savvy. Look for a partner that supports E2EE technology. You’ll need to balance cost versus product and service here. Using the low-cost provider could come at the expense of limited product functionality, potential security holes, and lower levels of customer service.
  4. Prevent tampering. Make certain all employees tasked with the responsibility of accepting credit and debit cards from customers have a working understanding of the looks and functionality of the payment processing equipment they’re using. Scammers often try to tamper with a business’ payment processing equipment in an effort to steal credit card information. Altered equipment usually consists of a small piece of hardware physically attached to the terminal itself. An attentive employee who knows what to look for should be able to easily identify an extra attachment to the device or oddly functioning software.
  5. Refrain from storing credit card numbers. To avoid one of the biggest PCI compliance risks, you should do everything in your power to not store credit cards numbers. Look for a payments provider whose platform is designed so credit card information is never stored at your business site or on your business software. Your provider should be able to process the transaction and then store your customers’ card information in a secure “vault” in the cloud. They should provide you with an encrypted ID, so when you want to do another transaction for that same customer, your software can pass the payments provider the encrypted ID so your company never comes in contact with the stored credit card data.

It’s reasonable to have a healthy level of economic optimism, but critical to take the necessary precautions to protect your company’s assets and security. Apply these tips to help ensure credit card scammers aren’t given the opportunity to steal the fruits of your labor.

Organizations Lose an Estimated 5% of Annual Revenues to Fraud

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There’s no doubt fraud, committed by both external and internal parties, is on the rise as methods for committing theft become more available and easier to hide due to technology. And according to a recent survey by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, businesses around the world lose an estimated 5% of their annual revenues to fraud, for a total loss of more than $3.5 trillion.

The 2012 “Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud & Abuse” found the following:

  • Fraud schemes are extremely costly. The median loss caused by the occupational fraud cases in the study was $140,000. More than one-fifth of these cases caused losses of at least $1 million.
  • Schemes can continue for months or even years before they are detected. The frauds in the study lasted a median of 18 months before being caught.
  • Tips are key in detecting fraud. Occupational fraud is more likely to be detected by a tip than by any other method. The majority of tips reporting fraud come from employees of the victim organization.
  • Occupational fraud is a global problem. Though some findings differ slightly from region to region, most of the trends in fraud schemes, perpetrator characteristics and anti-fraud controls are similar regardless of where the fraud occurred.
  • High-level perpetrators do the most damage. The median loss among frauds committed by owner/executives was $573,000, the median loss caused by managers was $180,000 and the median loss caused by employees was $60,000.
  • Small businesses face increased risk. The smallest organizations in the study suffered the largest median losses. These organizations typically employ fewer anti-fraud controls than their larger counterparts, which increases their vulnerability to fraud.

The report goes on to break down occupational frauds by category, duration of fraud based on scheme type, size of victim organization and initial detection of occupational frauds. Here is the breakdown in graphical form:

The full report can be downloaded here.

Q&A on Post-Catastrophe Fraud

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According to a recent Munich Re finding, 2011 has become the highest-ever loss year on record due to natural catastrophes. Though most of the losses were caused by the earthquake in Japan, the U.S. has seen its share of cat losses and claims — some fraudulent. To learn more about the of post-catastrophe fraud, I questioned Gary Kerney of ISO.

After the Alabama tornadoes and the Missouri River floods, was there a dramatic increase in the amount of claims fraud?

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The recovery and rebuilding processes in many of the areas affected by severe weather this spring are only just beginning. There have been no claims fraud per se detected yet. There have been reports of fraud in previous catastrophes where property owners allegedly damaged buildings to pursue insurance claims. Such allegations were usually tied to lack of insurance. For example, much flooding occurred in areas of Louisiana caused by Hurricane Katrina. Some property owners who did not have flood insurance are alleged to have subsequently and intentionally inflicted damage to their own building to make the loss appear to be wind related because there was appropriate coverage for the wind peril.

Do you have any specific examples of claims fraud from these events that stand out in your mind?

Since there have been no large scale incidents noted yet, there are none that we can comment on specifically because it is still early in the recovery phase. As noted above, though, we can look back at other events, such as Hurricane Katrina, and find instances where reports of fraud were alleged.
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Again, much of such reported fraud activity was likely due to the absence of insurance that would normally provide money to pay for repair or replacement of damaged property. Another development that followed Katrina involved cases in which jurors reportedly felt sympathy for defendants accused of fraud – who were faced with the financial inability to repair a home or business. Some jurors were reported to have concluded they might have done the same thing under the extenuating circumstances.

Why were residents compelled to commit such fraud?

Property owners, both residential and commercial, may consider committing fraud when there is a lack of insurance or the amount of insurance is insufficient to provide for full and complete replacement or repair of the damaged property. There is a need for capital to replace the damaged structure and the lost contents. If insurance cannot fully fund the recovery, some people may consider resorting to fraudulent measures to obtain the money needed. Potential fraud activities are not only directed at insurers but can also involve attempts to obtain more money in assistance grants from government agencies such as FEMA.

How can insurers prepare for and deal with post-catastrophe claims fraud?

Insurers can anticipate some fraud activity in any kind of catastrophe ranging from a hailstorm to a hurricane. Sometimes the property owner is not aware of a fraud being perpetrated since it may in fact be the contractor or repairer who commits the fraud with inflated fees or by creating additional damage to the structure.

How can they prevent it?

Insurers take actions to reduce the impact of fraud. Adjusters are trained to identify what appear to be “red flags” for fraud. Insurers can have claims analyzed by an organization such as ClaimSearch to help identify fraud or parties to prior fraudulent schemes. Not all fraud can be prevented. However, much of it can be and is reduced through vigilance and the use of tools designed to help identity it.

What are catastrophe anti-fraud plans?

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Most insurance carriers include anti-fraud training as part of the company’s catastrophe response plan. The carriers use information developed by organization such as the National Insurance Crime Bureau to inform adjusters and others involved in the claims process regarding indicators of fraud.

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Adjusters are trained to be vigilant; however, adjusters are also expected to pay rightful claims as quickly as possible so that policyholders can begin their recovery efforts as quickly as possible. In addition, carriers often include Special Investigation Units as part of the first response to a disaster so that from the beginning the carriers can identify and react to potential fraudulent activity.
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Responses by Gary Kerney, assistant vice president of ISO’s Property Claim Services® (PCS®) division. ISO (www.iso.com) is the flagship subsidiary of Verisk Analytics (www.verisk.com).

What Risk Managers Can Learn About Preventing Fraud from Tom Brady, John Elway and CHiPs

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There are a lot of events and anecdotes that risk managers can draw lessons from. September 11, Hurricane Katrina,  the financial crisis and the Gulf oil spill are the among the most oft-repeated.

But Pat Huddleston, former enforcement branch chief of the SEC’s enforcement division, has written an excellent article that looks to more unique sources, showing how risk managers can prevent fraud by learning from Super Bowl-winning QB Tom Brady, NFL legend John Elway and an actor best known for his role in the TV show CHiPs.

That may sound strange, but here is one of the insights he unveils, detailing how new research into the human brain can help law enforcement authorities — and risk managers — discover scams before damage is done.

Unlike other industries, the fraud business never slumps, and the SEC has already begun enforcement actions against scams that began after the financial crisis of 2008. Fortunately for smart risk managers, new discoveries in how the human brain works have emerged as the post-Madoff wave of scams has been building. Risk managers can use these discoveries to develop a new approach to due diligence that is grounded in new evidence about how humans think.

In his 2009 book, How We Decide, Jonah Lehrer reveals that — contrary to the age-old wisdom — emotions are essential to effective decision-making. Among Lehrer’s examples is Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots. When Brady drops back to pass, he has, at most, four seconds to release the ball; not enough time for all the thinking required. Instead, Brady responds to his emotions, according to Lehrer. When he looks at his first option he gets a negative feeling. The same with the second. When he looks at the third, he gets a flood of positive emotion and releases the ball. Touchdown.

Of course, Tom Brady wasn’t born with a brain that could lead him to MVP awards, Super Bowl rings and a Hall of Fame career. Rather, the emotions his brain sends forth are reliable because they are informed by his training and experience; this includes all of his the film study, each practice since Pop Warner and every pass attempt he has every made. While Brady has a great arm, it’s his brain that makes him so impressive.

Having spent more than 20 years protecting investors, I can tell you that a well-educated and trained human brain is the most effective tool for preventing and detecting investment fraud. The good news is that risk managers can acquire that kind of tool.

And that’s not all. As promised, risk managers can also learn lessons from a fraud carried out CHiPs actor turned con artist Larry Wilcox and another scam scheme that fooled John Elway.

Head over to the website of Risk Management magazine to read the rest.