Text-to-phone phishing attacks show enormous drop in the first quarter

According to the latest report from Internet Identity security company (IID), text-to-phone phishing attacks decreased considerably in the first quarter of the current year. Thus, these attacks have dropped by 62% from the previous quarter.

Nevertheless, credit unions appeared to be the most targeted by text-to-phone phishing attacks, with great amount of them being spoofed in text-to-phone cases. In these attacks, cyber criminals impersonate companies by text message and try to get people to call a fake interactive voice response (IVR) system designed to steal account information.

Meanwhile, the research found that cyber criminals increasingly posed as relief organizations to launch phishing attacks, claiming to help victims of recent disasters, like the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

Besides, increasing volume of phishing was used to carry out Internet Domain Name System hijackings, specifically with China's biggest search engine Baidu.com.

Importantly, the major share of phishing volume moved to targeting money transfer sites.

Google preparing payment system for newspapers: Report

Google might launch a micropayment system for newspapers by the end of the year according to reports in an Italian newspaper La Repubblica, which says Google is encouraging publishers to try out a system called NewsPass.

La Repubblica says that, with Newspass, people will be able to log-in to the sites of participating news publishers using a single login. Publishers will be able to designate what type of payment they want to accept, including subscriptions and micropayments. People who find content from participating publishers in Google search will see a paywall icon next to that content and be able to purchase access directly from there using Checkout.

It’s unclear if such a program would be launched in Italy at first, or worldwide. In response to the report, Google said: “We don’t pre-announce products and don’t have anything to announce at this time.”

The idea of a Google micropayment system for newspapers came to light last September when Nieman Journalism Lab posted an 8-page PDF that Google wrote in reply to an RFP from the Newspaper Association of America. The PDF may be downloaded at; http://www.niemanlab.org/pdfs/Google.pdf

Ernst & Young to face investigation over Lehman Brothers' audit

Ernst & Young, the firm who audited Lehman Brothers' operations in the UK, is under investigation in regard to the advice it gave to the US bank in the run-up to its collapse in 2008.

The Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board is to examine Lehman's financial statements as well as the use of controversial accounting practices such as Repo 105, a measure which allowed the bank to hide debts from its balance sheets.

Ernst & Young stated it is confident it will be vindicated by the probe.

"[Our] audit opinion stated that Lehman's financial statements for that year were fairly presented in accordance with the relevant accounting standards and we remain of that view," a statement from the company said.

In March, court-appointed examiner Anton Valukas – who spent a year investigating how the collapse of Lehman Brothers occurred – said the use of the Repo 105 "accounting gimmick" had allowed the firm to keep around $50 billion worth of debt of its balance sheet in the first six months of 2008.

He criticized the bank's executives for giving permission for the misleading financial statements to be published.

Wells Fargo enhances its identity theft protection

Wells Fargo has unveiled an Enhanced Identity Theft Protection service, providing customers with an easy way to monitor their credit and check for inaccuracies that may indicate identity theft, is now available. The company has expanded and enhanced the service in response to customer demand.

The improved version of the current Identity Theft Protection service represents an enhanced service that delivers monthly triple credit bureau reports and scores, online calculators, credit score tracker and credit score alerts. The extended version is available through Wells Fargo Insurance and provided by Trilegiant Corporation.

The new version offers a variety of tools to help customers manage credit, including an online "Credit Score Simulator" that lets customers see how a credit score changes if they decide to reduce debt on mortgages or credit cards, refinance a loan, apply for a credit card or consolidate debt into a new account.

Customers' solid interest in protecting against identity theft is one example of a broader concern-managing credit and finances in a turbulent economy, as said Robert Dudacek, Wells Fargo Insurance Direct Response Group Manager. The Enhanced Identity Theft Protection service is available now and customers can receive their credit report and score online in seconds.

8 million Filipinos now use mobile banking

Over eight million Filipinos are now using mobile banking services in the country, which the central bank says would boost more efficient financial services in rural and other hard-to-reach areas at relatively lower costs.

Central bank Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said there are now 49 rural banks offering mobile banking from none before 2005.

These eight million users use the electronic money (e-money) services of major telecommunications companies Smart Communications and Globe Telecom, which offer Smart Money and G-Cash, respectively, BSP said.

These allow mobile subscribers, particularly those without bank accounts, to deposit, transfer, and withdraw money from one e-money account to another in the telecom company's business centers nationwide.

Espenilla noted that the Philippines has been recognized by international organizations for its microfinance initiatives and is considered as the leading pioneer in mobile banking solutions for the poor.

Some banks even lowered interest rates on microfinance loans for clients who use text-a-payment platform by 50 basis points on monthly rates, Espenilla added.

"Technology extends outreach of microfinance and banking services to a large number of bankable but un-banked especially those in rural and hard to reach areas at lower costs and higher efficiency," he said.

He explained that the mobile phone industry in the Philippines serves all income groups especially low income groups and more than 75 percent of the population have mobile phones.

Electronic transactions, which involve the payment of purchased goods and services, could also be used for remittances from Filipinos abroad, Espenilla noted.

“The amount of e-money transactions is already huge, and we expect it to grow further," the BSP official added.

The BSP said it has ordered firms offering e-money services to register with the central bank as an electronic money issuer (EMI).

These could include banks, non-bank financial institutions, and money transfer agents. Those qualified as EMI include stock corporations with a minimum paid-up capital of P100 million. E-money is also not considered a bank deposit and is not covered by the deposit insurance provided by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

The guidelines also limit the maximum amount that can be loaded to any e-money instrument to P100,000 a month.

Reserve Bank of India prefers the bank-led mobile banking model

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prefers the bank-led mobile banking model over the mobile operator-led one, as it offers facilities such as deposit insurance, access to affordable credit and payment system, not just remittance, the RBI governor D Subbarao has said.

The growing concerns about money laundering and financing of terrorism is also a reason the central bank favours a bank-led model.

“World over, there are two distinct models - the ‘bank-led’ model and the ‘mobile operator-led’ model. The RBI has a clear preference for the bank-led model,” Subbarao said while addressing a banking event in Hyderabad last week.

On interoperability of technological solutions, the governor said the priority clearly has to be to facilitate ‘inclusion’ first. ‘Interoperability’ is no doubt important but it can follow. Clearly inclusion cannot wait for interoperability to happen.”

Subbarao also expressed concerns over the tech barrier between banks and customers as the absence of human touch can be intimidating for those just entering the banking network. He asked banks to take extra care to ensure poor are not scared away by technology.

Referendum possible on UBS handing client data to US

The controversial plan for UBS to hand over client data to American tax authorities may be put to a referendum in Switzerland.

Last week, the lower house of the Swiss parliament voted against allowing the data to be passed on to the US, which alleges that almost 4,500 American citizens are avoiding tax by holding secret accounts with UBS.

While it has now reversed its decision and voted in favour of the plan, the lower house has also called for a referendum of Swiss citizens to take place on the issue.

But the idea of a ballot has been opposed by the upper house of the parliament, along with Switzerland's bankers' association, reports the Financial Times.

The referendum proposal is complicated by the fact that under Swiss law, citizens are granted 100 days to get the 50,000 signatures needed for a plebiscite.

If the full period was taken up, the August 19th deadline agreed between the US and the Swiss on delivering the customer information would be broken.

An agreement on what is to be done will have to be made between the two houses before the end of this week, when parliament is scheduled to break up.

Last week, a spokesman for the Inland Revenue Service warned: "We continue to monitor the events in Switzerland and we stand ready to pursue all legal options available to us should the Swiss fail to provide the required information."

The dispute has been rumbling for some time, with UBS agreeing to a $780 million settlement of criminal charges brought against it by US authorities in relation to aiding tax evasion back in February 2009.

A civil action was pursued against the bank in an attempt to access the names of the clients, with the Swiss agreeing to pass over the data in August last year.