Latest news with #paymentfraud
Finextra
17 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
IFX Payments selects Form3 for Verification of Payee
IFX Payments, a service-led alternative banking partner, today announces it will be using Form3's Verification of Payee (VoP) solution for SEPA account, strengthening its defences against payment fraud and aligning with the Instant Payments Regulation mandate. 0 Ahead of the Verification of Payee (VoP) scheme going live in October 2025, implemented by The European Payments Council, IFX Payments will now be able to verify payees before payments are executed. The VoP scheme is designed to reduce fraud and payment errors by verifying that the payee's name matches their PSP's records for the given IBAN. This occurs before the payment is executed, providing additional assurance that the funds are being sent to the correct account holder. Form3's solution will ensure that IFX Payments is compliant with the Instant Payments Regulation for its SEPA Credit Transfer and SEPA Instant Payments, offering its customers enhanced protection against authorised push payment (APP) fraud and payment errors. The Form3 VoP solution is underpinned by a single API designed to integrate seamlessly into existing infrastructure, allowing customers to meet regulatory requirements while focusing on growth, to improve the overall customer experience. The solution has been designed with compliance in mind for customers. Form3's fully managed service delivers compliance with regulations such as IPR and PSD3. A key selling point is that Form3 provides rolling scheme updates - without service interruption. Today's announcement marks the third Form3 product that IFX Payments has adopted, having previously integrated Confirmation of Payee (CoP) and SEPA Credit Transfer into its customer offering. Mike Walters, CEO, Form3, says: 'We're proud to be working with IFX Payments, a forward-thinking global organisation at the forefront of FX and payments. Their decision to adopt our VoP solution marks this as the third Form3 product that IFX Payments has signed up to - highlighting the strength of our ongoing partnership and their commitment to growth.' Rosie McConnell, Product Director, IFX Payments, comments: 'We chose Form3's VoP solution because of its seamless fit with our existing compliance infrastructure. Having a dedicated onboarding team has been invaluable, allowing us to continue focusing on what matters most: delivering a secure, reliable, and fully compliant payment experience for our customers. We're happy to be building on our partnership with Form3.'
Forbes
4 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
3 Trust-Centric Strategies For Today's Leaders
Trust is given—until it's not. That's true in many industries, from real estate to restaurants to SaaS. An organization's ecosystem of customers, partners, and end-users often inherently trusts that organization to safeguard data and maintain security. However, as cybercriminals become increasingly sophisticated, leaders have their work cut out for them to maintain that trust. And once trust is lost, it can be very difficult to earn it back. Within real estate, concerns around fraud and security are top of mind. The majority of property managers have seen an increase in fraudulent renter applications, payments fraud and data security issues in the last year, according to AppFolio's survey of 2,000 property management professionals. As a result, 40% of property managers are more concerned than they were one year ago about online fraud incidents and 37% are more concerned about data security. This mirrors broader fraud and security trends that every business leader should be paying attention to. Seventy-nine percent of organizations experienced payment fraud attacks in 2024, while data breaches continue to increase. In the current environment, leaders must work across their ecosystem to foster trust and prioritize security. Here are three key areas to focus on. Prioritizing trust starts with your own internal company culture and employees. It's important to create an environment where employees feel comfortable raising concerns and asking questions. One way to do this is by taking a rewards-based approach to employee cybersecurity training, versus a punitive approach. The goal is for employees to speak up if they, for example, spot a phishing attempt—and especially if they think they've fallen for one. Rather than shaming employees, leaders should positively recognize those who bring attention to security or fraud issues. I've seen everything from thank-you emails to a paid lunch used as positive incentives. Thumbs Up Another important part of this strategy is creating channels for employees to report issues quickly and effectively. Anonymous reporting channels can make employees more likely to report concerns and enable security teams to identify potential issues before they turn into major breaches. What's more, this type of channel supports a wider culture of trust and transparency. Many trust practices are nearly invisible when they're done right. This means customers often only think about cybersecurity and fraud protection once something's gone wrong. One thing the AppFolio team has been working on recently is more outward-facing trust initiatives that allow our customers to 'see' and 'feel' our security measures. This is especially important in real estate. We're supporting high-stakes processes like payments, insurance and resident applications every day. Small steps can go a long way here, like enabling two-factor authentication for sign-in so users feel that extra layer of security. On a larger scale, we also proactively communicate around our responsible AI practices, including how we keep customer data private and secure. Concerns around data privacy and security continue to grow amid the rise in generative AI tools, according to Deloitte. We take our responsibility to our customers seriously and follow a strict framework of Responsible AI Principles to evaluate innovation for Fairness, Reliability, Privacy and Security, Transparency, and Accountability. We make this framework available to our customers on our website. Organizations don't just have a responsibility to protect their customers, but to protect their customers' customers as well. Trust and user experience intersect in ways many leaders might not be thinking about. Protecting end-user data is always crucial. Within real estate, residents expect the software they interact with to be secure. Applying for a rental home, signing a lease and moving into a new home can be stressful and overwhelming. Residents deserve an experience they can trust, especially when providing personal and financial information. Here's the tricky part. While end-users expect a secure experience, they also expect a seamless one. Sometimes, fraud prevention and cybersecurity measures can get in the way of that. We've all felt the frustration of being locked out of an account after forgetting a password. In real estate, clunky verification processes can slow down residents' journey of finding a new home. It's important to undergo proper UX testing and take steps to balance security with convenience. Make sure security and fraud prevention tactics are paired with an efficient, frictionless experience for end-users. The Trust Chain The stakes are high for organizations that want to protect their customers, their end-users and their reputation. Fortunately, there are numerous tools and strategies leaders can use to establish trust throughout their chain of impact, from internal culture to customers to end-users. When in doubt, focus on transparent and open communication with all key stakeholders. Make sure employees can bring up potential fraud concerns without fear of reprimand, share clear and straightforward messaging with customers, and build secure end-user experiences without sacrificing usability. With these tactics in mind, leaders will be well equipped to maintain trust throughout their ecosystem and take on ever-evolving fraud and cybersecurity threats.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Spot a scam before it hits you - and your finances: How to protect yourself against increasing online threats
More than £570 million was stolen in payment fraud in the first half of 2024 according to trade association UK Finance, with scams continuing to pose a significant threat to your personal finances. The latest high-profile cyber attacks on M&S, Harrods and Co-op have only highlighted the need to protect yourself against scams. > How McAfee Scam Detector can help you outsmart scammers M&S has admitted that certain customer details were stolen and is recommending that users change their passwords for their online accounts. Scams often heat up after major cyber attacks. You should be extra cautious if you receive texts, emails or calls claiming to be from well-known organisations, such as M&S or Co-op. What steps can you take to avoid being conned out of your money? With the help of McAfee we explain. Think twice: Check you're dealing with a legitimate organisation before giving your details How to protect yourself against scams Fake messages or scam calls often request you to part with sensitive information urgently, with the aim of stealing your financial details. This gives criminals access to your accounts – allowing them to steal your money. Regarding the recent cyber attacks, you should be wary of any contact claiming to be from the organisations affected. Scammers take advantage of events like this, sometimes by demanding that you hand over your financial details in return for compensation or another monetary reward. The Take Five campaign against fraud recommends three steps when you're asked to divulge sensitive information: Stop: Don't part with information – or your cash – before taking a minute to think about it first. Criminals will try to rush you, so hold your ground. Challenge: It's better to ignore, reject or refuse suspicious requests than go along with them. You can contact the organisation to check the contact is genuine. Protect: If you've parted with sensitive information, get in touch with your bank (or other relevant financial provider) straight away and contact Action Fraud. You should also review how secure your online accounts and devices are. For example, the National Cyber Security Centre recommends: Protecting accounts with strong, unique passwords – especially sensitive accounts such as your email (if you use the same password across multiple accounts, criminals only need one to gain access to everything). Creating passwords using three random words, which makes them more difficult to hack (many passwords also require you to use numbers, special characters and capital letters). Using a password manager. Installing software and app updates as soon as they're available. Enabling two-step verification where possible, which adds an extra layer of protection. Backing up your data. Finally it's imperative you protect your devices with powerful online protection software, which can detect threats and neutralise them before they cause harm. How can online protection software help you avoid scams? Online protection apps traditionally protect your devices against malicious software, but the programs available today can go much further than that. For example, McAfee's Scam Detector flags suspicious emails and texts and can even block risky sites if you accidentally click through to them. It can also alert you to potential deepfake video scams – these are becoming more common, with AI duping people into parting with their cash. McAfee Scam Detector can also help you become more savvy about detecting scams in the first place, because it explains why it's flagged a suspicious email. Scam Detector is included in all McAfee's core plans, including McAfee Total Protection and McAfee+.
The Sun
27-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Crooks rake in staggering £1.17BILLION from UK Banks in scam surge
CROOKS raked in £1.17billion from banks through payment fraud last year, figures show. Criminals were responsible for 3.13million thefts, up 14 per cent on 2023, said UK Finance. Greater use of stolen card details to buy items online, by phone or mail order pushed up the number of unauthorised fraud payments. The so-called remote purchase frauds — victims are legally protected against some losses — rocketed by 22 per cent to nearly 2.6million. Authorised push payment cases, where people are tricked into transferring money, fell by a fifth. However, UK Finance said there was a 'notable increase' in international payments being made as part of APP fraud. It said overseas transactions were not covered by new mandatory reimbursement rules so victims were unlikely to get back their money. Ben Donaldson, boss of UK Finance, said: 'Fraud continues to blight this country. It severely harms individuals, society and our economy as the money goes to serious organised crime groups.' Rocio Concha of consumer group Which? said: 'Fraudsters continue to exploit gaps in the system. 'The Government must ensure that social media firms, search engines and telecoms firms put the right systems in place to properly protect their customers.' She called the APP fraud fall 'encouraging' but added: 'The amount of money lost to this crime remains eye-watering, with devastating consequences for victims.' Simon Read 3 Premier's chair inn PREMIER INN owner Whitbread has turned to Severn Trent's Christine Hodgson as its new chair. The hotel and restaurant giant has struggled after recent closures and lower demand for rooms. Ms Hodgson, who replaces Adam Crozier, had been chair at Severn Trent since 2020. The water firm was recently blasted for a decision to hike consumer bills by an average 47 per cent over the next five years. Adidas in data attack SPORTSWEAR giant Adidas has become the latest big company to be attacked by cyber fraudsters. It said customers' personal information has been stolen — but that passwords, credit card information and payments-related data had not been affected. 3 The company, promoted by stars including David Beckham and Lionel Messi, said hackers stole mainly the contact information of people who have dealt with its customer service desk. Adidas said it was in the process of contacting those affected as well as data protection and law enforcement authorities. The company apologised for 'any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident'. The attack comes after similar data breaches took place at Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods in recent weeks. M&S said that the cyber attack — which hit the retailer around Easter time — could cost the business an estimated £300million. Sell of a drop for houses HOME buyers are cashing in — with sellers settling for an average £16,000 below their asking price. Buyers also have more choice as the number of homes on the market is up 13 per cent on last year, according to the property website Zoopla. It said the North West is the hottest housing market for price rises in England. Blackburn has seen a typical 5.8 per cent hike, while Wigan has seen a 4.4 per cent rise and Birkenhead a 4.1 per cent annual increase. Zoopla's Richard Donnell said: 'We expect sales to keep rising over the second half of the year, with home values on track to be two per cent higher by the end of the year.' Sarah Coles, of financial services firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said the Bank of England's decision to cut interest rates to 4.25 per cent had led to more first-time buyers entering the market. Volvo job stall VOLVO CARS plans to axe around 3,000 jobs as part of cost-cutting measures. The move will mainly hit office jobs in Sweden and represents around 15 per cent of its white-collar workforce. It comes after the Chinese-owned auto maker last month announced a £1.4billion 'action plan' shake-up. Boss Håkan Samuelsson blamed the layoffs on the 'challenging period' faced by the industry. He said the 'difficult decisions' were steps to build a 'stronger and even more resilient' Volvo Cars. Tesla trouble EUROPE sales at troubled Tesla dipped by half in April. The EV firm sold 7,261 cars in the month, down 49 per cent year on year, said the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. It faces Chinese rivalry and a backlash over boss Elon Musk's views. Talc a cheque? SHARES in chemicals group Elementis jumped 12 per cent after it flogged a talc business to Italian rival IMI Fabi for £41million. The FTSE 250 firm plans to hand most of the proceeds to investors in the form of a share buyback. Analysts at Jefferies described the sale — part of Elementis's plans to focus on chemicals — as 'positive and long awaited'. In the three months to March, Elementis said it delivered higher margins and profits despite a 'challenging demand environment'.
