Legal issues and news

Curve has launched a new metal card without personal account numbers, which it hopes will better manage the balance between fraud risk and ease of use.

The potential for fraud fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, coupled with the anticipation of a $2 trillion stimulus, is creating such a lucrative opportunity for scammers that Visa and the Secret Service are predicting a wave of unprecedented levels of fraud.

The most effective way to avoid cloud payment breaches is by dramatically reducing access, says CloudKnox Security's Balaji Parimi.

It’s a time of challenges, but fraud teams who adapt well to them will strengthen their systems, and their understanding of their customers and their business, says Identiq's Urid Arad.

The U.K.’s growing panic about the spread of coronavirus has created an open season for fraudsters, with government agencies and cybersecurity companies reporting unprecedented levels of criminal activity since the virus began sweeping across the globe in January.

Last month's enforcement actions included the former CEO of Western Heritage Federal Credit Union in Alliance, Neb.

The industry still grapples with stopping corrupt employees — the failure of CBS Employee FCU last year highlights that — and now that could become even harder with the pandemic.

New features and improvements often take a back seat to security, says Entersekt's Claudius van der Meulen.

Card fraud risks — already soaring prior to the coronavirus outbreak — are changing rapidly as the pandemic deepens, forcing issuers and merchants to rethink protective measures.

Address verification, geolocation and 3-D secure can all play a role, according to Chargebacks 911 and Global Risk Technologies' Monica Eaton-Cardone.

Digital payment firms and fintechs are nimble and responsive, but that also creates web supply chain attack risk, says Jscrambler's Rui Ribeiro.

Corporations have tapped more than $124 billion in lines in the past three weeks; rating agency says virus “could wipe out a full year of U.S. banking profits.”

While financial institutions are encouraging customers to use their digital banking services rather than the branch or ATMs during the outbreak, attackers will also be looking to exploit this potential increased adoption of mobile banking and mobile payment apps, says OneSpan's Sam Bakken.

As coronavirus forces most shopping to occur online, merchants will likely see their product return policies tested by both good customers and the unsavory ones who abuse those policies for profit.

The attack knocked out core and mobile banking systems at several U.S. banks, and Finastra is working to get them up and running.

BofA, JPMorgan said they are paying bonuses to branch and call center employees; the bank says removing the $1.9 trillion limit on growth will help it lend to more customers in need.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already given rise to false marketing of test kits and criminals impersonating the FDIC. Consumer advocates say the bureau could issue alerts as well as empower banks to help safeguard their customers’ funds.

Some banks have closed branches or restricted access and bank tech resources are being overwhelmed; bank pays a record SKr4 billion ($400 million) for issues.