Mike Urban

Criminals are making lots of investments in fraud, so it's critical that financial institutions get the biggest bang for their anti-fraud buck. Here are the areas I suggest investigating for anti-fraud ROI: 1. Make more stringent CNP (card-not-present) authorizations.  With the increased usage of cards on the internet and the insecurity of users’ computers and mercha…

I'm often asked "What are the best ways for banking institutions to detect fraud?"  While it's common for institutions to rely on after-the-fact manual reports and threshold rules, these are primarily useful for compliance processes, not for fraud detection and loss mitigation.  To have a real impact on fraud losses, you need: 1. Fraud detection in real time.  Anythi…

Fraud on Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments has gone through an evolution.  It started out with fraudsters getting involved as originators of fraudulent ACH transactions.  They would create fictitious transactions, either by not getting consumer consent or over-charging consumers on transactions.  A heightened awareness of on-boarding originating businesses and e…

Traditionally, fraud losses are measured by looking at fraud transaction dollar losses and operational costs.  But institutions should begin to pay more attention to reputation and loss of confidence—often the “hidden” costs of fraud. While it's true that these costs are less obvious and harder to measure, that doesn't mean they should be ignored.  In our recent frau…

Our recent fraud survey of hundreds of financial institutions uncovered that only 26% have a team assigned to detect cross-channel fraud.  The problem stems from how institutions manage fraud—by payment channel rather than at the customer level.  This makes them vulnerable, unable to identify fraudsters targeting one channel for compromise and perpetrating the fraud o…

The new year often brings new resolutions, new ideas and fresh perspectives. Unfortunately, fraudsters are not immune, and will also come up with new schemes and deceptions. So what can banks expect from fraudsters in the coming year? The increased use of electronic deposits means that Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) fraud will continue to be a concern. As long as we ha…

What are the top fraud threats to financial institutions?  How are they fighting back? New results from our Faces of Fraud Survey provides some answers—and a few surprises. The survey, conducted by ISMG and sponsored by FICO, polled hundreds of financial institutions, primarily banks but also credit unions and payment processors. Questions were designed to gauge the…

In a recent post, I discussed the recent rise in card compromises resulting from attacks on bank ATMs. Did you know that… The time delay from ATM skimming to unauthorized withdrawals/purchases has decreased from about 30 days in 1999 to mere hours in 2010? Factory-installed ATM cameras can easily be disabled or evaded by fraudsters, and the ATM often still contin…

Constant vigilance must always be the mantra of the fraud manager—you never know when or where the next threat will arise. Case in point: We’re now seeing an abrupt rise in the incidence of card compromises resulting from attacks on bank ATMs. This trend became evident in the third quarter of 2009 and picked up considerable velocity over the first half of 2010.
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Social engineering has been with us as long as humans have been on the planet.  We respond to social stimuli all around us every day.  From getting cut off by an aggressive driver to losing money due to a fraud event, even the most even-keeled person will get agitated.    Social engineering is a persuasion technique.  Creating a mes…

There have been increasing reports of intentional and unintentional data compromises associated with smart phones.  A smart phone is basically a small computer.  Apple has already taken this metaphor to the next step with the release of the iPad, which uses the iPhone operating system. Each smart phone operating system uses applications, or apps, from the smart phone…

The AP recently released an article that describes the latest technique criminals are using to slip in through the back door of the credit application process. This technique targets fresh or clean Social Security Numbers (SSN) that belong to children or people who have been in prison for most of their life – both life situations mean that person’s credit record is es…