PINcept.com: August 2008

eCommerce Technology Spending to Rise

Internet Retailer conducted a study via email participation of 92 "web only" merchants and other's participated and here are the findings:Though 72 percent of internet retailers plan to purchase e-commerce applications or services this year, they'll be spending less than they expected to spend last year, according to Internet Retailer's latest survey on e-commerce technology spending intentions (via Retailer Daily).A whopping 73.6 percent...

Posted by John B. Frank Friday, August 29, 2008 0 comments

Get a Phone Message After Every Transaction?

Times...they are'a changing. In the past, telemarketers would call and try to get us to "buy" something. Now there's a group who wants to call you AFTER you "buy" something. Actually they plan to send an SMS to cellular phones or PDA's everytime a credit/debit/ATM card is registered with them and subsequently used for a transaction. They are essentially pitching what they have to offer as a Value Added Service Provider, (VASP) Rather than...

Posted by John B. Frank 0 comments

More on Hacker's 11

There's been a lot of press relating to the 40 million card breach and the subsequent arrest of the Hacker's 11. In fact, I've done several posts on it myself.It was all done by something called "wardriving," (see WarDriving 101) which involves driving through areas with a laptop searching for accessible wireless Internet signals, and then tapping into those systems to install "sniffer programs" that capture credit and debit card numbers...

Posted by John B. Frank Thursday, August 28, 2008 0 comments

75% of "Online" American's Use eBilling Services

CheckFree released the results of an annual Consumer Banking and Bill Payment Survey that they sponsor and according to their release, "more Americans than ever, an estimated 63.1 million households or three-fourth's of those online, are paying their bills online rather than writing paper checks.The Consumer Banking and Bill Payment survey has been conducted annually since 2002 by CheckFree Consumer Insights, a consumer research and data...

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PCI, PCI DSS 101

Here's a comprehensive article explaining the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council requirements pertaining to protecting card holder data. The article, written by Jeff Kress from NewsFactor.com does a good job putting, what many tend to consider to be a confusing subject, PCI, into a better perspective. "Any firm that stores, processes or transmits credit card data should comply with security...

Posted by John B. Frank Wednesday, August 27, 2008 0 comments

Several Million for $150...Hop Aboard the PCI Express!

There's PCI, and then there's just plain ole' PC. What are several million records doing on a laptop in the first place? And why would the National Bank of Scotland employ a "third party" archiving company that sells it's used laptops containing personal data on eBay? I found a good article on PCI and I'll post it next, but first this amazing faux pas... When Andrew Chapman...

Posted by John B. Frank 0 comments

30% of Canadian Back to School Shoppers To Do It Online

In what looks to be an unabashed plug of Verified by Visa, the payments industry behemoth recently polled online shopping plans of Canadiens and found the following:TORONTO, ONTARIO, Aug 27, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) Almost one-third of Canadians in need of books, computers and back-to-school supplies will avoid the hustle and bustle of traditional shops in favour of the World Wide Web this year.According to an August 2008 survey commissioned...

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Keeping up with the Jones' (& the Discover vs. MasterCard/Visa Lawsuit)

Finds No Conspiracy Between Visa and MasterCardPurchase, NY. - MasterCard Worldwide said it is pleased that Judge Barbara S. Jones narrowed the scope of Discover’s antitrust case against MasterCard by granting certain aspects of MasterCard’s summary judgment motion. In particular, Jones found that despite Discover’s assertions, there is no evidence of a conspiracy between MasterCard and Visa. She also dismissed Discover’s debit-related...

Posted by John B. Frank Tuesday, August 26, 2008 0 comments

Online Travel Numbers Grow

This year US travel sales booked online will reach $105 billion, up 12% from 2007 according to http://www.emarketer.com/ According to the graphic, illustrated on left, it will continue to grow.eMarketer forecasts that US online leisure and unmanaged business travel sales (including airline, hotel, rental car, vacation package, intercity rail and cruise) will reach $105 billion. Furthermore, from 2007 to 2012, sales will increase at an 11.6%...

Posted by John B. Frank Monday, August 25, 2008 0 comments

World's Largest Hotel Chain Hacked - 8 Million at Risk

Eight million people at risk of ID fraud after credit card details are stolen by hotel chain hackersSecurity breach: A Best Western Hotel in Amsterdam Up to eight million people are at risk of ID fraud after a hacker breached the security system of the world's largest hotel chain. An Indian hacker broke into the IT system of Best Western Hotel Group and stole personal details of everyone who has stayed there in the past 12 months. ...

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Fraud Takes A Toll on Bay Area

Fraud has taken it's toll on the Public Transportation Industry which has seen a flurry of actvity regarding recent hacks on their RFID based card programs. First there was the Oyster Card Hack in London, followed by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's "Charlie Card." which was hacked by 3 MIT students. ("Sorry Charlie...You'/ve Been Hacked!") Now it appears that the RFID based...

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Sepa Clarifies Sepa Cards Framework with new Q&A

European Payment Council clears up Sepa for Cards confusionThe European Commission and the European Central Bank have welcomed a document published by the banking industry-backed European Payment Council that paves the way for a competitive single market for card payment card schemes by 2010.The document, which takes the form of a Q&A, clarifies key aspects of compliance with the Sepa Cards Framework (SCF) for payment card schemes and...

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Gartner's Avivah Litan on PCI Version 1.2

In an article pubished in ComputerWorld last week, Avivah Litan, distinguished analyst at Gartner shared her thoughts on the summary of changes of PCI 1.2. Here they are:The new version is a "definite improvement" on the existing PCI standard, said Avivah Litan, an analyst at Gartner Inc. But, she added, the PCI council appears to have missed a chance to introduce some other long-needed changes. According to Litan, one...

Posted by John B. Frank 1 comments

Partially Shredded Bank Checks Used as Packing Material?

Check This Out: I saw this on CNN this morning and thought it would make for an amusing post. A Texas company uses a bank's processed checks for packing material. Some of the checks are not even fully shredded and contain drivers license numbers, routing numbers, addresses and bank account numbers. The video clip above, if nothing else is entertaining. Here's an excerpt from the video story..."I was just in shock. I couldn't believe they were using shredded...

Posted by John B. Frank Saturday, August 23, 2008 0 comments

Video - First Data Announces New Payment Technology "Go Tag"

New Contactless Payment Technology Showcased at Democratic National ConventionFirst Data Gives Attendees a Glimpse into the Future of Paying "On the Go"DENVER, August 22, 2008 /PRNewswire/ — During this year's Democratic National Convention (DNC), Denver's Pepsi Center will serve not only as a focal point of American politics, but also as an arena for the future of how people will pay for goods and services.Next week, First Data will introduce...

Posted by John B. Frank Friday, August 22, 2008 0 comments

Credit Card Useless Overseas? PIN it with HomeATM

The headline might be a bit dramatic, but it's true that more and more merchants in Europe and elsewhere will not accept credit cards without the "Chip and PIN" system — The term is "chip and PIN" (or EMV, for Europay, Mastercard and Visa). Most European banks and merchants are switching to it. Canada's switching too. By 2010, you'll have trouble using a standard American credit card at many Canadian merchants.Banking officials say the...

Posted by John B. Frank 0 comments

Don't Leave Home With It? Card Fraud Fearing Brits Carry Cash

Britons going abroad this summer are warned levels of card fraud overseas has shot up by 77 per cent between 2006 and 2007. Fraud on credit and debit cards cost Brits £207.6 million last year, insurer CPP found, with France, Italy and Spain the top spots for card crimeFour in five of Brits are worried about possible fraud if they use their cards overseas with many (60 per cent) choosing to carry cash instead.Card cloning tops the list...

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HomeATM Partner Procures Canadian Financial Provider

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, Aug 22, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- As Stated by SmartCard Marketing Systems Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SMKG) "Management is pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement to provide 4000 Pin debit and Prepaid cards to a Canadian Financial service provider in Canada with online and retail services, this is additional from the 9000 with Kiyss.com. The agreement includes the use of the Velocitymoney.com loading network,...

Posted by John B. Frank 0 comments

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