From: Help Net Security



Facebook users should be on the lookout for an email threat that is posing as a message from Facebook administrators. The message contains both a phishing scam and a notorious “banking Trojan” virus.



A link within the spam email takes users to a spoofed Facebook login page requesting the user’s Facebook account information. After entering their credentials, users are then prompted to download “updatetool.exe” which is a Zbot Trojan variant.



According to Red Condor’s security experts the spoofed Facebook login page uses www.facebook.com in the sub-domain portion of the malicious URL. As a result, people with small screen resolution or small browser windows/address bars size might think they are actually on Facebook’s login page.



The Trojan associated with this threat installs a sophisticated “banking Trojan” that is known to scour the infected hard-drive for personal banking information and various login credentials, as well as perform key logging and other nefarious activities.



Continue Reading



In related news, a Judge Awarded Facebook $711 Million in Damages in Spam Case





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Posted by John B. Frank Friday, October 30, 2009 0 comments

According to ZDNet Blogs Anti-Spam Philters are useless against Phishing. 



A recently conducted ethical phishing (New study details the dynamics of successful phishing) experiment impersonating LinkedIn by mailing invitations coming from Bill Gates, has achieved a 100% success rate in bypassing the anti-spam filters it was tested against.



The experiment emphasizes on how small-scale spear phishing campaigns are capable of bypassing anti-spam filters, and once again proves that users continue interacting with phishing emails.



More info on the methodology used:



“This scenario was an invitation from Linkedin, posing as an invitation from Bill Gates to join his network. Linkedin was selected due to availability, and the fact that it is a social network recognized by most executives. This selection of Linkedin was also based on the fact that linked-in email should be already identified by most existing email system(s), and this may have helped delivery through into the mailbox. The phishing link can be identified in the HTML source code below.





The Phishing site was based on the Linkedin sign in page. The form action was changed so that the user would be redirected to a subsequent page on our site. No usernames or passwords were collected during this assessment. All targeted users were contacted before the phishing email was sent, and were expecting a Linkedin invitation from Bill Gates.”



Continue Reading at ZDNet Blogs



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Fiserv, Inc., announced today that it was selected as  the winner of the "Most Innovative Case Study Presentation" awarded by attendees at the Financial Technology Insight Summit held in Boston, Mass., September 30 - October 2. Featuring Aperio Customer Analytics from Fiserv, the presentation addressed the need for financial institutions to have a better understanding of customer segmentation, as well as the ability to predict the future behavior of these customers. It showed how banks can create greater relationship value and improve cross selling opportunities by leveraging this information to offer the right products at the right time. Please contact me with additional questions.



- Financial Technology Insight Summit recognizes Aperio Customer Analytics from Fiserv -



Brookfield, Wis., October 30, 2009 - Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), the leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, announced today that it was selected as  the winner of the "Most Innovative Case Study Presentation" awarded by attendees at the Financial Technology Insight Summit held in Boston, Mass., September 30 - October 2. Featuring Aperio Customer Analytics from Fiserv, the presentation addressed the need for financial institutions to have a better understanding of customer segmentation, as well as the ability to predict the future behavior of these customers. It showed how banks can create greater relationship value and improve cross selling opportunities by leveraging this information to offer the right products at the right time. With predictive analytics, institutions can increase the rates of return on inbound and outbound marketing, manage delinquencies and address customer churn and retention - thereby driving profitability through more efficient

programs.



Entitled "Using Analytics in Customer Retention and Uplift Marketing Programs" and presented by Carol Cowan, vice president, product management and marketing, Bank Solutions, Fiserv, the case study focused on the use of analytics in customer retention and cross-sell programs. The presentation covered several case studies from organizations using the technology to analyze customer trends and perform uplift modeling. Results indicated that users were able to improve marketing campaign results by 30-300% while decreasing marketing program costs by as much as 40%.



The "Best of Financial Technology Insight Attendee Choice Awards" winners and nominees are chosen solely by the executives attending the Summit - primarily director-level and above technology management positions at top global banks and other financial institutions. "I believe the awards selected by our attendees truly represent the best of the strategic initiatives and new products that are driving growth in the financial services industry," said Bill Sell, vice president and general manager, CrossTech Media.



Fiserv was also nominated in the categories "Best Market Solution", "Best New Technology" and "Best Overall Vendor." Financial Technology Insight Summit is a two-day, invitation-only educational and networking program with structured attendee/sponsor interaction. Award voting takes place on the final day of the program and is based on solutions and product knowledge gained throughout the various educational programs. Twenty-two vendors were in attendance including IBM, Infosys, Harland Financial Solutions and Tata Consultancy Services.  



"Fiserv is honored to receive this recognition from the industry for the innovative use of one of our client growth solutions," said Tony Catalfano, division president, Bank Solutions, Fiserv. "When financial institutions can more effectively reach and understand their customers, they are in a stronger position to succeed and become a leader in their market. With vast market knowledge and global expertise, Fiserv has a commitment to industry-leading quality standards, and ongoing investments to drive innovation and industry transformation."



An example of the Fiserv core competencies in Customer and Channel Management and Data Analytics and Business Insights, Aperio is a next generation customer interaction management solution that provides financial institutions the ability to enable customer centricity. A true multi-channel solution, it integrates and automates business processes and tracks customer interactions across multiple channels. Organizations then have the capability to proactively make decisions about how to proceed with a customer - based on real-time data. The solution is pre-integrated with the Signature(TM) Bank Platform from Fiserv and is also available neutral of core provider. 



Financial Technology Insight is produced by CrossTech Forums, in partnership with IDC Financial Insights.



About CrossTech Forums

CrossTech Forums is a leading producer of highly focused business events that bring C-level executives together with leading and emerging Vendors in Private Boardroom Appointments to form strategic partnerships and secure new business in the technology sector. Additional information about CrossTech Forums can be found at www.crosstechforums.com



About Fiserv

Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV) is the leading global provider of information management and electronic commerce systems for the financial services industry, driving innovation that transforms experiences for financial institutions and their customers. Ranked No. 1 on the FinTech 100 survey of top technology partners to the financial services industry, Fiserv celebrates its 25th year in 2009. For more information, visit www.fiserv.com.





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Monett, Mo., Oct. 29, 2009 - PIN Payments News Blog -  Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY), a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, today announced the acquisition of Washington-based Pemco Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of PEMCO Corporation and one of the nation's leading providers of payment processing solutions primarily for the credit union industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.



Pemco Technologies' products and services include credit signature processing; debit signature processing; PIN-based processing; ATM services; cardholder awards programs; fraud management, detection, and prevention solutions; personalized cards; and prepaid card programs. These payment-related products and services are currently supporting approximately 235 financial institution customers.





According to Jack Prim, CEO of Jack Henry & Associates, "This acquisition supports our expansion in the growing electronic payments industry with solid credit card solutions that complement the broad array of ATM and debit card solutions we already provide through our jhaPassPort product suite. This acquisition also expands our presence in the credit union space and enables us to broaden our reach outside our core client base. We can sell these solutions to any credit union, regardless of core processing system, that has an in-house credit card program and needs a third-party gateway service to pass credit card transactions to Visa and MasterCard for processing. We are excited about the sales opportunities that we believe exist with a richer product offering that supports the growing electronic payments segment of the financial services industry."



Kevin Williams, CFO of Jack Henry & Associates, said, "Acquiring Pemco Technologies supports our strategy to buy companies with proven solutions that complement our existing product offering and that have a corporate culture that like ours is dedicated to providing high quality technology solutions and excellent customer service. This acquisition will generate cross-sale opportunities among our respective client bases and generate new sales opportunities with financial institutions outside our core client base. We expect this acquisition to be slightly accretive in the first full year and improve beyond that as we recognize the full impact of operational synergies."



PEMCO Corporation elected to divest this business line in order to strategically focus on its primary insurance business which encompasses life, home, auto, and boat insurance offerings.



This transaction will be discussed during Jack Henry & Associates' upcoming first quarter fiscal 2010 earnings conference call scheduled for November 4, 2009 beginning at 7:45 a.m. Central (8:45 a.m. Eastern). The Webcast can be accessed on the company's Web site at www.jackhenry.com . Please log on approximately 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call. An archived replay of the call will be available on www.jackhenry.com approximately one hour after the live call.



About Pemco Technologies



Pemco Technologies provides innovative payment solutions to the financial industry including credit signature processing, debit signature processing, PIN-based processing, ATM services including one of the largest surcharge-free ATM networks, 24 X 7 credit and debit fraud management/detection/prevention, cardholder awards programs, card portfolio profitability programs, prepaid card solutions, CreataCard personalized photo cards, card manufacturing and personalization, merchant programs, Web-based system access, chargeback processing, instant issue and activation, daily settlement, and 100 percent of interchange income paid daily. Pemco is SAS 70 and PCI compliant. Award-winning reliability and renowned customer service make Pemco one of the nation's top payment solutions companies. Additional information is available at www.pemcotech.com .



About Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.



Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:JKHY) is a leading provider of computer systems and ATM/debit card/ACH transaction processing services primarily for financial services organizations. Its technology solutions serve more than 9,800 customers nationwide, and are marketed and supported through three primary brands. Jack Henry Banking(TM) supports banks ranging from de novo to mid-tier institutions with information processing solutions. Symitar(TM) is the leading provider of information processing solutions for credit unions of all sizes. ProfitStars® provides highly specialized products and services that enable financial institutions of every asset size and charter, and diverse corporate entities to mitigate and control risks, optimize revenue and growth opportunities, and contain costs. Additional information is available at www.jackhenry.com .





Source: Company press release.

Posted by John B. Frank Thursday, October 29, 2009 0 comments

I guess the ABA was wrong? 



Source: Mintel Comperemedia

Region: US

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct 2009

People prefer branches over Internet for bank communication

Chicago (October 28, 2009) -PIN Payments News Blog-



Even in the age of tweets, texts and friend requests, there’s something comforting about face-to-face contact. A new survey from Mintel Comperemedia, a service that provides direct marketing competitive intelligence, shows people would still rather contact their bank at a branch than online or through email.



Two in three adults (65%) say they prefer to get up close and personal at a bank branch to communicate, while three in seven (43%) like the phone for its real person, real time qualities. Only 44% of survey respondents say they like logging on to a bank’s secure (sic) website, while just one-third (34%) choose email as a preferred method of bank communication.



“When it comes down to it, people still crave personal contact when communicating with banks. Talking in person or over the phone brings on feelings of familiarity and confidence, which are especially important to consumers in light of the financial crisis,” states Susan Wolfe, VP of financial services at Mintel Comperemedia.



However, websites and email remain important avenues for customer-to-bank contact. Young adults, especially, are likely to prefer online and email communications when they want to contact their banks. Over half of Echo Boomers and Gen Xers (52% each) say they like reaching their bank through a secure website.



When Mintel Comperemedia asked survey respondents how they prefer their banks to contact them—mail, email and in person were near ties (43%, 42% and 40%, respectively).



“Though people have clear preferences for how they like to contact their banks, they aren’t as opinionated about how their banks contact them,” says Susan Wolfe. “Banks need to be mindful that every customer has different communication preferences, so they should offer multiple points of contact.”



For more information, please contact Joanna Peot: Telephone: +1 312 628 7946 Email: press@mintel.com



Please note that this service is for journalists only. For all other requests please contact the sales team at info@mintel.com

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New York, Oct. 29, 2009 -- American Banker and Bank Technology News, SourceMedia’s renowned publications for banking and financial services professionals, and IDC Financial Insights, an independent research services firm, today released the sixth annual FinTech 100 rankings of the top global technology providers to the financial services industry.



As the business environment within the financial services industry continues to be a challenging one, the FinTech 100 listing represents an insightful representation of where financial services companies are choosing to invest their technology dollars. Specific highlights from this year’s report include:
  • Fiserv (NYSE: FISV) retains the number one spot as the largest provider of technology to the financial services industry;


  • There are 41 companies on this year’s listed headquartered outside of North America;


  • Representation from EMEA companies continues to be strong with 23 companies with combined revenues approaching $6 Billion;


  • Three Chinese companies made list and include Hundson Technologies, Inc, Yucheng Technologies, Ltd and new this year Longtop Financial Technologies, Ltd.; and


  • The number of Indian companies on the list continues to rise with 11 companies included representing combined revenue of more than $5 billion.




Vendors included in the 2009 FinTech 100 rankings are as follows:

  1. Fiserv, Brookfield, Wis., USA

  2. Sungard, Wayne, Penn., USA


  3. Fidelity Information Services, Jacksonville, Fla., USA


  4. Diebold, Incorporated, North Canton, Ohio, USA


  5. NCR Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, USA


  6. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India


  7. First Data Corporation, Greenwood Village, Colo., USA


  8. Total System Services, Inc. (TSYS), Columbus, Ga., USA


  9. Lender Processing Services, Jacksonville, Fla., USA


  10. Metavante Technologies, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., USA


  11. Infosys Technologies, Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka, India


  12. CA (Computer Associates), Islandia, N.Y., USA


  13. Cognizant Technology Solutions, Teaneck, N.J., USA


  14. DST Systems, Kansas City, Mo., USA


  15. Experian Group Limited, Dublin, Ireland


  16. SAS Institute, Cary, N.C., USA


  17. Equifax, Atlanta, Ga., USA


  18. Jack Henry and Associates, Inc., Monett, Mo., USA


  19. Oberthur Card Systems S.A., Nanterre, France


  20. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., Lake Success, N.Y., USA


  21. Ingenico S.A., Puteaux Cedex, France


  22. FICO, Minneapolis, Minn., USA


  23. Open Solutions Inc., Glastonbury, Conn., USA


  24. Itautec, São Paulo, Brazil


  25. EDB Business Partner ASA, Oslo, Norway


  26. Temenos Group AG, Geneva, Switzerland


  27. Hypercom Corporation, Scottsdale, Ariz., USA


  28. ACI Worldwide, New York, N.Y., USA


  29. Murex SA, Paris, France


  30. Misys, London, UK


  31. IPC Information Systems, Ltd., New York, N.Y., USA


  32. 3i Infotech, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India


  33. CPM Braxis, São Paulo, Brazil


  34. Syntel, Troy, Mich., USA


  35. Harland Financial Solutions, Lake Mary, Fla., USA


  36. SS&C Technologies, Inc., Windsor, Conn., USA


  37. Mphasis Corporation (EDS), Bangalore, India


  38. TransFirst Holdings, Inc., Dallas, Texas, USA


  39. Polaris Software Lab Ltd., Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India


  40. Patni Computer Systems Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra, India


  41. Advent Software, Inc., San Francisco, Calif., USA


  42. Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, Minneapolis, Minn., USA


  43. Simcorp, Copenhagen, Denmark


  44. GFT Technologies AG, St. Georgen, Germany


  45. Ness Technologies, Canonsburg, Penn., USA


  46. Linedata Services S.A., Rueil-Malmaison, France


  47. Resolve Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada


  48. Fidessa, London, UK


  49. BancTec, Irving, Texas, USA


  50. S1, Norcross, Ga., USA


  51. GlobeOp Financial Services, London, UK


  52. Headstrong Corporation, Fairfax, Va., USA


  53. Firstsource Solutions Limited, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India


  54. DealerTrack Holdings, Lake Success, N.Y., USA


  55. Charles River Development, Burlington, Mass., USA


  56. Algorithmics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada


  57. Politec, São Paulo, Brazil


  58. Avaloq, Zurich, Switzerland


  59. Interactive Data Corporation, Bedford, Mass., USA


  60. Wall Street Systems, New York, N.Y., USA


  61. Calypso Technology, San Francisco, Calif., USA


  62. Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd., Beijing, China


  63. Pegasystems, Cambridge, Mass., USA


  64. Bravura Solutions Limited, Sydney, Australia


  65. FundTech, Ltd., Jersey City, N.J., USA


  66. Collabera, Morristown, N.J., USA


  67. iGATE Global Solutions Limited, Bangalore, Karnataka, India


  68. OpenLink, New York, N.Y., USA


  69. Mastek, Mumbai, India


  70. Sophis, London, UK


  71. Vasco Data Security, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., USA


  72. ERI Bancaire SA, Zurich,Switzerland


  73. Chordiant Software, Inc., Cupertino, Calif., USA


  74. Odyssey Financial Technologies, Prilly, Switzerland


  75. Online Resources Corporation, Chantilly, Va., USA


  76. Eagle Investment Systems LLC, West Hartford, Conn., USA


  77. Viewpointe, New York, N.Y., USA


  78. TAS Group, Bologna, Italy


  79. Diamond Management & Technology Consultant, Chicago, Ill., USA


  80. Callatay and Wouters, Brussels, Belgium


  81. SmartStream, London, UK


  82. Investment Technology Group, New York, N.Y., USA


  83. ORC Software AB, Stockholm, Sweden


  84. Goldleaf Financial Solutions, Inc., Norcross, Ga., USA


  85. Nucleus Software, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India


  86. Wausau Financial Systems, Mosinee, Wis., USA


  87. Hyland Software, Inc., Westlake, Ohio, USA


  88. Actuate Corporation, San Mateo, Calif., USA


  89. Hundsun Technologies Inc., Hangzhou, China


  90. Viveo, Paris, France


  91. Eze Castle Integration, Boston, Mass., USA


  92. Panini, Bologna, Italy


  93. Callidus Software, Inc., San Jose, Calif., USA


  94. AurionPro Solutions, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India


  95. COCC, Avon, Conn., USA


  96. FRS Global, Stevens-Woluwe, Belgium


  97. Norkom Technologies, Dublin, Ireland


  98. Yucheng Technologies Limited, Beijing, China


  99. Celero Solutions Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada


  100. Argo Data Resource Corporation, Richardson, Texas, USA




“This year’s FinTech 100 list highlights banks’ `flight to quality,’ as they consolidate their technology spending with the industry’s largest and most established players,” said Rebecca Sausner, editor of Bank Technology News.



“The last 18 months has been challenged with the worst financial crisis and recession in generations,” said Dana Wiklund, research director, Risk Management, IDC Financial Insights. “One underlying positive is that technology innovation around financial services continues. The evidence for this is year-over-year growth in both aggregate FinTech 100 revenue ($52 Billion up from $45 Billion in 2008) and the minimum threshold for making the FinTech 100 list (up to $50 Million from $36 Million in 2008). Growth in the global participation further underscores the diversification of solutions throughout the industry.”



The 2009 ranking of the top 100 application/service providers in the financial services industry is categorized and evaluated by calendar year-end revenues (CY08) and the percentage of revenues from sales to financial services industry clients. The FinTech 100 includes vendors that derive more than one-third of eligible revenue from the financial services industry. Revenue from network, telecommunications, electronic exchanges and data services providers is ineligible; therefore percentages less than 33% reflect these adjustments within the rankings. All rankings are based on Financial Insights’ revenue estimates including information provided by public and private companies. Financial Insights conducted analysis on more than 400 companies for this recognition.



The 2009 honorees will be honored at the BAI Retail Delivery Conference & Expo in Boston at an awards breakfast on November 4 at the Westin Boston Waterfront.



To obtain a complete copy of the report, please visit http://www.americanbanker.com/fintech100/



About American Banker, Bank Technology News and SourceMedia, Inc.



American Banker, (www.AmericanBanker.com ), is the banking industry’s daily source of information, news, and analysis for executives at banks of all sizes. Founded in 1836, with a current readership of more than 65,000, the publication covers topics including national and global banking issues, mortgages, consumer finance, legislation, investment products, card and payment systems and technology.



Bank Technology News (www.BankTechNews.com/ ) is written for 27,000 banking professionals who identify, recommend, purchase and support the front-, middle- and back-office technology needs across all business units of their financial institutions. Bank Technology News provides critical information and analysis on the relationship between banking strategy and technology execution.



SourceMedia (www.SourceMedia.com ), an Investcorp company, is the pre-eminent provider of timely and essential news, analysis, research, and insights for members of the financial services community, and the related fields of professional services and technology. SourceMedia offers its clients and subscribers professional publications, industry-standard data applications and in-depth seminars and conferences.



About IDC Financial Insights



IDC Financial Insights (www.financial-insights.com ) is one of the world’s leading providers of independent research, custom consulting, and advisory services focusing on the business, technology and operational issues, within the financial services community. We are the preferred research partner for over 250 of the world’s largest financial institutions and technology companies. For the past 6+ years we have been helping our clients understand and manage the challenges they face from a rapidly changing business, operational and technological environment. We proudly employ the industry’s most talented minds, which equip our clients with insights that they rely on and advice they trust. Furthermore, we are the only research firm that has a significant physical presence worldwide, with analyst community based in the America's, Asia Pacific and Europe.



About William Mills Agency



William Mills Agency was founded in 1977 and promotes companies that sell a variety of products or services in a number of highly specialized vertical markets. The Atlanta-based agency represents companies throughout North America and Europe. For more information, please visit www.williammills.com or call Mr. Kelly Williams at (678) 781-7202.



Source: Company press release.

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