Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

Most people have, at some point in their lives, made an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-regret-buying-house-remote-work-travel-airbnb-buyers-remorse-2024-1">"oops" purchase</a> — you buy a thing and almost immediately regret it. In the age of online shopping, such purchases are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/impulse-spending-retirement-delayed-2024-5">easier than ever to make</a>. They are not, however, easier to reverse. Sometimes, you can quickly cancel an order, but oftentimes, the window to do so is so tight that you end up missing it.I recently found myself in such a situation. I bought yet another inane thing I really do not need that I will not name because it is slightly embarrassing. Before anything had shipped, I reached out to the seller to call the whole thing off. Unfortunately, I was denied. Annoyed, mostly at myself but also a little bit at the seller, I had a sinister thought: What if I file a dispute with my credit-card company? I could try to initiate a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-is-a-chargeback">charge-back</a>, say the shipment was taking too long or I'd ordered it erroneously, and maybe get my money back. Perhaps I could even get to at least try the thing I was pretty sure I didn't want, but hey, if it was free. To be clear, I did not do this, and I don't know whether it would have worked. But I seriously considered it. One of the best perks of my credit card — the ability to dispute a transaction to get a refund — had almost turned me into a bit of a jerk. Without knowing the term for it, I'd weighed engaging in first-party fraud, colloquially known as "friendly fraud," an increasingly common phenomenon where customers, accidentally or intentionally, dispute legitimate transactions as fraudulent with their credit-card issuer or bank.A credit-card charge-back happens when a consumer sees something they don't like or recognize on their statement and asks the bank to look into it. The bank then investigates the claim and decides whether to issue a refund — under federal law, a consumer can't be on the hook for more than $50 for an unauthorized charge. The merchant can respond, too, if they have proof that the transaction was fine. The bank plays the umpire and decides what to do with the money — maybe it takes it back from the merchant and gives it to the customer, maybe it makes the consumer cough the money up, after all, or maybe it pays out both parties and eats the cost itself."Charge-backs are a huge problem for many merchants. That's not something they can just sweep under the rug," said Oscar Bello, the chief sales officer at Chargeback Gurus, a company that helps merchants navigate charge-backs and manage disputes.There are plenty of legitimate reasons to file disputes and initiate a charge-back, first and foremost, for a transaction that was made by a fraudster, not the consumer. There are other fair explanations, too — there was a billing error, the product or service wasn't delivered as promised, the transaction wasn't authorized in the first place.Then there are charge-backs that can toe the line, ethicswise, or even tip into fraud by the cardholder. People lie and say they didn't get a pair of shoes delivered, even though they did, or they say the shoes came damaged, even though they were fine or had a tiny bit of damage but were still plenty wearable. Perhaps they cancel a restaurant reservation and dispute the cancellation fee, even though the penalty was listed plainly on the restaurant's website. Or a person paid to have their car fixed up and then said the workmanship was shoddy. In those instances, the customer is engaging in fraud or crossing a questionable line, but it can be hard for credit-card issuers to tell what actually happened. It can be quite the ordeal to trace whether a shoebox shipped in the mail wound up in the buyer's hands, let alone for a bank to decide whether all the work an auto-repair shop did was necessary and good.There's no "silver bullet" for figuring out who's in the right in every instance of a consumer dispute, said Domenic Cirone, the vice president of acquirer solutions at Kount, a fraud-prevention company owned by Equifax. And as much as artificial intelligence is helpful, he added, you often need people to sift through the data and complexities. And, he said, most consumers are well-meaning.Charge-backs and friendly fraud aren't new issues, but they're ones <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retailers-lost-millions-in-organized-online-refund-fraud-scheme-2023-11">exacerbated by e-commerce</a>. It's a lot easier to say that the sweater you got at the Gap never arrived than it is to claim you bought it at the store and, I don't know, forgot to take it with you or suddenly realized once you got it home that it sucked. A 2023 report from Ethoca, a Mastercard-owned platform that helps merchants handle fraud and disputes, said charge-backs in the US could reach $15.3 billion by 2026, more than double the $7.2 billion in 2019. Much of that is friendly fraud: The report cited a statistic from the data-analytics company Datos Intelligence that 75% of all the fraud digital businesses see is first-party fraud.Beyond the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retail-enters-new-normal-ecommerce-brick-and-mortar-2022-11">e-commerce explosion</a>, some other factors have made <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/free-shipping-free-returns-online-shopping-companies-charging-expensive-amazon-2024-2">friendly fraud more commonplace</a>. Consumers are increasingly using disputes for service-related issues — a product showed up damaged, or a service wasn't up to snuff. Inflation and economic pressures may also make the prospect of disputing a charge more appealing.What's more, people are constantly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/banks-cashless-world-disaster-economy-business-fintech-cash-crypto-2022-6?">paying through digital transactions</a> that are really hard to keep track of. Perhaps they <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription-services-forgotten-cost-consumers-payments-2022-6">don't remember making a purchase</a>, or their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teen-spends-life-savings-tips-protect-money-2024-3">kid put something on their card</a> and didn't tell them, so they mark the charge as fraudulent even though it wasn't. Last year, I almost committed accidental friendly fraud against an airline because I forgot I'd paid to check my bag and tried to dispute the charge before realizing it."It's really quick and easy to check out, which is great because we love that as consumers. That leads to a lot of transactions," Robert Painter, the vice president of global channel sales at Kount, said. "The old adage, more money, more problems, right? So in addition to that, there's confusion."Of course, what's happening here on the end of consumers is not always confusion — sometimes, it's taking advantage of the system. Kevin, an entrepreneur who asked me to keep his identity protected because he was worried his business partner would get mad at him for talking to the press, has lost thousands upon thousands of dollars and endless hours on what he believes are frivolous and often fraudulent disputes. One of his gigs is selling tickets for a swamp tour near New Orleans. According to Kevin, people who go on the tour have disputed charges because they claim they didn't see enough alligators. Or customers of his auto-transport company, which he recently sold, disputed claims because their vehicles arrived a day or two later than desired or, in one case, because a driver didn't speak "good" English. Essentially, some people are using disputes as a review system, and if they don't give the experience five stars, they tell the credit-card company they want their money back. Kevin has won charge-backs before — he recently succeeded in pushing back against a cancellation claim after customers agreed to move their tour time but then backed out at the last minute. More often than not, however, he loses, and regardless, the whole thing is a huge time suck."Customers now, what we found post-COVID, are very trigger-happy on the dispute system," Kevin said.Kevin is not above using questionable dispute tactics as a consumer himself (he recognizes the irony here). He recently successfully disputed a $200 charge from a golf course after being told he couldn't change a tee time.The ability to dispute transactions is generally a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-travel-alert-fraud-detection-american-express-visa-chase-2024-5">nice benefit of credit cards</a> and one that most consumers use as a last resort once they've tried to talk to the merchant (if they can get ahold of them). Still, it's weird that Citi or Amex or whoever ends up playing arbiter in charge-backs because the business incentive is to prioritize the customer over the merchant. It's hard to feel bad for big businesses that might lose money on a transaction that barely registers on their records, but for smaller businesses, this can really be a strain.In some cases, there's a pretty clear line between what is fraud and what's not, what's a legitimate charge-back and what isn't. Your online order never arrived, and the customer-service number never picked up: legitimate. Your order arrived and you claim it didn't: fraud. Right or wrong, many cases never get litigated out to the end, anyway."Not every merchant is equipped to fight," Bello of Chargeback Gurus said.There's some gray area, too. If you place an order and it arrives in 12 days instead of the 10 days promised, you might very well win in a dispute. Is that really fair? Mmm.I do not know whether my dispute on the mystery item would have been approved. (It was some stupid health supplements I saw online, OK?) But I wouldn't be shocked if it did. I've never disputed a purchase before, and my credit-card company would like to keep me happy. I do not think I would have felt particularly bad about initiating a charge-back, either, since <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supplements-vitamins-bad-or-good-health-2017-8">the supplements industry is unregulated and scammy anyway</a>. That doesn't mean it would have been the most awesome thing for me to do.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

One of the nicest perks on my credit card is making me a jerk

In mid-March, a scammer in California tried to buy $150 worth of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trying-wingstop-first-time-review-photos-2022-9">Wingstop</a> using my debit card. Aside from being impressed at the sheer size of the order, I was relieved because Citibank, which issued my card, declined the transaction on the spot and alerted me to the fraud. In minutes I was able to shut off my card, heading off any more purchases by the scammers, and order a new card. All's well that ends well.When I went to Buenos Aires in April, I figured I might <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/why-was-my-credit-card-declined">run into a similar situation</a>. Sure, the banks say you don't have to call ahead when you travel anymore, but I assumed I'd still have some purchase flagged as potential fraud, as had happened in past trips abroad. Miraculously, everything went off without a hitch. I don't know how JPMorgan Chase knew that I would spend $200 on Botox in Argentina, but it did. (No, I didn't book my flight on the same card, and whatever, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/botox-injections-fillers-plastic-surgery-gen-z-social-media-filters-2024-5">everybody gets Botox now</a>.)It's great that banks and credit-card companies are getting better at discerning which payments are fraudulent and which are legit. Many people have some horror story about having their credit card stolen or having their own legitimate transactions flagged as suspicious. And it's nice not to have to spend 20 minutes on the phone before a vacation explaining where you're going and when. Credit-card fraud protection is still far from perfect, but there's no denying that the technology is improving. On the flip side, it's also kind of wild to consider just how much financial institutions must know about you to make the right calls.I was curious about how it all works — and, frankly, a little creeped out. So I reached out to some credit-card companies and academics to learn more. Why don't people have to alert their credit-card companies about travel anymore? And, more broadly, just how have banks gotten so good at figuring out what's normal about our spending habits and what isn't?The Federal Trade Commission receives thousands of card-fraud complaints each year. The Nilson Report, which tracks the card industry, says payment-card fraud resulted in $33 billion in losses worldwide in 2022 and $13.6 billion in losses in the US. As such, credit-card issuers and banks are keen to do what they can to spot fraud. They want to keep their customers happy, and, more importantly, they want to stem their losses. In the US, the major credit-card issuers and banks <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-card-lost-stolen-what-to-do">generally have a zero-liability policy</a>, which means that when a customer gets scammed, the organization, not the customer, has to eat the cost.Years ago, whether a transaction went through was based on things like whether a physical card was present, whether you had enough money to make the purchase, and (if the cashier wanted to look) whether your signature on the receipt matched the one on the back of your card. In some cases, the cashier may have even asked for ID or called the bank to verify the funds. We've come a long way from those bad old days by using the same tools that power most innovations: data and computers. Credit-card companies and banks know a lot about us — where we shop, when we spend, and how much we're usually willing to pay for things — and they're getting better and better at turning that knowledge into action. While it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/generative-ai-exaggeration-openai-nvidia-microsoft-chatgpt-jobs-investors-markets-2024-3">all the rage to talk about newfangled forms of artificial intelligence</a>, fraud detection owes a lot to machine learning, a field within AI that's been around for years. A bunch of data gets dumped into computer systems, and algorithms figure out patterns and relationships. The algorithms create decision trees to predict the likelihood of different outcomes and identify what may be considered normal or fishy. It's not that your credit-card company knows that you, specifically, would blow a bunch of cash on A and not on B — it knows that customers with your profile are in the "likes A" camp and not the "likes B" one."It's looking at what's happening that is very much out of the ordinary for your general behaviors," said Tina Eide, an executive vice president of global fraud risk at American Express. "And when I talk about general behaviors, it is generalized, right? It is not down to the specific purchase or to the specific merchant." Eide added, "The models are evaluating a trillion dollars' worth of transactions a year."The machines know more now than ever. Mike Lemberger, Visa's regional risk officer for North America, said that over the past five years the number of data points people generate with their credit cards has grown tremendously. People are increasingly using cards over cash. And they don't just have a physical card they're pulling out at the store — they've got their card credentials in their Amazon account, Netflix account, iPhone, etc. The more purchases the card issuer can analyze, the more accurate the fraud detection will be."Visa, we don't have consumer information — that's your financial institution that has that — but what we have is this triangulation of all these data points," Lemberger said. "We can create more and better scores, layer on top of that machine learning and AI abilities, and it becomes a much, much more powerful predictor, which we then feed into all of our partners to say, 'Hey guys, if you want to make the best decisions, here's a whole bunch of really good information.'"Visa isn't going to block your card directly, but it'll alert your bank that your purchase looks suspicious or that fraud has been detected at the merchant you're dealing with.This all seemed pretty simple until I talked to Yann-Aël Le Borgne and Gianluca Bontempi, a pair of researchers at the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium who <a target="_blank" href="https://fraud-detection-handbook.github.io/fraud-detection-handbook/Foreword.html#authors">work on machine learning and card fraud</a>. They emphasized the vast scale of this fraud-detection technology. Companies and their algorithms are ingesting millions of transactions and creating so many decision trees to categorize certain activities that it can defy human logic, they said. Basically, the computer may be right that your transaction looks funky even if it's made in your home city at a fairly innocuous vendor, or it may be right that the transaction is fine even though it's made in a faraway place — but when humans try to figure out what did or didn't sound the alarm, nobody will really be able to pinpoint why."Machines can consider many more features, and at the end of the day it's not clear if all those features have meaning for humans," Bontempi said. "Humans are used to working with two, three features, at most five features, while machines can work with hundreds of features. So there are really different levels between what a machine can do."There are human-written rules, which are generally interpretable, and there are machine-written rules, which can be a black box. They're more accurate, but they may be harder, if not impossible, for people to reverse engineer. And banks may be using several different algorithms, making this even more complicated. Data scientists are the ultimate decision-makers, but the information they're dealing with is based on highly complex tech. When I explained to experts my somewhat embarrassing wings-versus-wrinkles conundrum and asked what may have triggered one alert and not the other, they offered up different explanations. Eide, from American Express, said that even though I hadn't booked my trip to Argentina with the credit card I used to buy the Botox, something else had probably tipped off the system that I was there. I realized I'd also bought a package of spin classes in Buenos Aires on my phone with the same card. I had also paid for a meal in the city. Lemberger, from Visa, emphasized that it's about all the data and spending patterns and said that given my spending patterns, the Botox likely matched my profile more than the massive delivery order."I hate to say this to you, but at the end of the day, all these data points build personas. Just like in marketing somebody would use personas to market to you, we're using that same technology to protect you," he said. "And the fact is that we use those data points to not just secure you but the whole ecosystem."At some point it occurred to me that the supercomputers that credit-card companies and banks are working with could know more about me than I even know or understand about myself."It's probable that the exact reason why a transaction caused your card to be blocked has no straightforward interpretation," Le Borgne said.I also asked whether there was a big difference in credit-card protections and debit protections and was told not really — maybe banks will be a little more restrictive about credit because they're technically lending you money that's not limited by your actual cash balance. I also asked if companies don't worry about preclearing travel because they don't care as much about losing money to fraud anymore, to which the answer was a hard no."At the end of the day, somebody's got to pay for the fraudulent activity," Lemberger said. Credit-card companies will give you your money back if you're a victim of fraud, but they'll find another place to recoup that money, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-late-fees-cap-swipe-mastercard-visa-jpmorgan-rewards-2024-4">just as they always do</a>.Instinctually, I am not a technology-is-awesome person — if the AI really is going to kill us, I feel like we should unplug it. I'm not super freaked out about the privacy stuff, but I also don't love the idea that AmEx and JPMorgan and Citi have me so pegged. But it's cool that companies really are making fraud detection better, especially in a world where fraudsters themselves are constantly getting better. I don't want to be like "Yay, banks!" but maybe here the answer really is a little "Yay, banks!" At least that's the case until the next major data-privacy breach, at which point I will regret everything.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

Banks have finally fixed the single most annoying thing about credit cards

<ul><li>There has been an increase in <keyword id="43991" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="financial-fraud" source="Orion">financial fraud</keyword> amid an increase in financial transactions.</li><li>People are storing important financial information on their smartphones without any security.</li><li>88% of the people surveyed have submitted their Aadhaar as proof for applications and bookings.</li></ul> The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revealed that 5,406 instances of financial fraud were reported during April-September 2022, up from 4,069 reports during the same period in 2021. According to the central bank, the modus operandi for fraud has shifted to card and internet-based transactions. According to a survey conducted by LocalCircles, people are still storing important financial information such as internet banking passwords, and debit and credit card PINs on their smartphones. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="17% of people store financial information on their smartphone" comment="subhead" text="17% of people store financial information on their smartphone">17% of people store financial information on their smartphone</cmsannotation> Out of over 32,000 people surveyed, 9% admitted to storing important financial information on their phone’s contact list, and 8% admitted using the notes app on their smartphone. This means that 17% of people store important data without security. A similar survey in 2021 revealed that 11% of people were storing important financial data on their phones, meaning there has been an increase in this number, despite attempts by the central bank to raise awareness among the people. 18% of the people revealed that they store financial information on their computers and laptops. At the same time, 14% of the people claimed that they had memorised their financial information and had yet to store it anywhere. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with family" comment="subhead" text="24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with family">24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with family</cmsannotation> According to the report, 24% of the people share their debit and credit card PIN with one or more family members, and 6% share with their domestic or office staff. 67% of the people surveyed said they do not share this information with anyone. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="88% of the people share Aadhaar for applications and bookings" comment="subhead" text="88% of the people share Aadhaar for applications and bookings">88% of the people share Aadhaar for applications and bookings</cmsannotation> Identity and address proofs such as Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence and others have become something we often share with government or private entities such as banks and hotels for various applications and bookings, be it in digital form or as a photocopy. Sometimes, more than one of these documents is shared, and there is an overlap. A staggering 88% of the people have revealed that they have shared their Aadhaar as proof in the last five years. This was followed by 58% of the people sharing their PAN and 47% of the people sharing their driving licence. Additionally, 42% of the people shared their passports, and 35% shared their voter ID. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Nearly half of the people have faced a financial fraud" comment="subhead" text="Nearly half of the people have faced a financial fraud">Nearly half of the people have faced a financial fraud</cmsannotation> According to the report, 42%of the people surveyed have claimed to have faced some type of financial fraud during the three years between June 2019 to June 2022. Worse, 74% of these people failed to get their money back. We recommend that users do not store sensitive financial information such as banking passwords and debit and credit card PINs on their smartphones and laptops. Instead, users should opt for secure applications or try to memorise this information. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/most-common-passwords-can-be-easily-cracked-by-ai-in-under-a-minute/articleshow/99379900.cms">AI chatbots are cracking the code: How PassGAN can break into 51% of common passwords in under a minute</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-makes-it-easier-for-users-to-delete-their-account-and-data-from-applications/articleshow/99289621.cms">Google makes it easier for users to delete their account and data from applications</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/how-to-block-your-lost-or-stolen-phone-and-how-to-unblock-it/articleshow/99207569.cms">How to block your lost or stolen phone and how to unblock it</a>

Despite a rise in financial frauds, 17% of people store financial information on their smartphones

Prime Minister Narendra <keyword id="19899684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Modi" source="keywords">Modi</keyword> on Friday said the government is making necessary <keyword id="20861068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="policy-changes" source="keywords">policy changes</keyword>, like removal of <keyword id="20279287" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Angel-Tax" source="keywords">Angel Tax</keyword>, to promote the <keyword id="19945816" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fintech" source="keywords">fintech</keyword> sector, even as he asked the <keyword id="19962476" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="regulators" source="keywords">regulators</keyword> to take additional measures to check cyber frauds which can have a crippling impact on startups. Lauding the fintechs for democratising <keyword id="19976433" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="financial-services" source="keywords">financial services</keyword>, Modi said the sector, which has attracted USD 31-billion investment in the last 10 years, has played a key role in denting the parallel economy. The Prime Minister was addressing the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024, jointly organised by the Payments Council of India, the National Payments Corporation of India and the Fintech Convergence Council. He said the domestic economy and the capital market are in a celebratory mood at a time when the nation is also going through a festive period. Modi underlined that the government is making all necessary changes on the policy level to assist the fintech sector and gave examples of doing away with Angel Tax, allocating Rs 1 lakh crore to encourage research and innovation in the country and implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Broadly, fintech refers to entities utilising technologies for providing financial services. Expressing the need to put an end to <keyword id="19901142" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyber-fraud" source="keywords">cyber fraud</keyword>, he urged the regulators to take major initiatives to boost digital literacy. It is equally important to ensure cyber fraud does not come in the way of the growth of fintech and startups in the country, Modi said. In his speech, the Prime Minister also cautioned about the dangers of a parallel economy for the world. Fintech, he said, has played an impactful role in denting such a system and credited the emergence of transparency. He said that digital technology has introduced transparency in India and gave the example of the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer used in hundreds of government schemes that has prevented leakages in the system. "Today, people can see the benefits of aligning with the formal banking system," he said. Modi further said the trinity of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile have broken down the mentality of 'Cash is King' and made way for approximately half of the <keyword id="20004116" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-transactions" source="keywords">digital transactions</keyword> in the world taking place in India. "India's <keyword id="19900911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi" source="keywords">UPI</keyword> has become a major example of fintech in the world," he said, adding that it has enabled 24X7 banking services in every village and city in all weather conditions. Underlining the role of fintech in democratising financial services, the Prime Minister gave examples of readily available loans, credit cards, investments and insurance. He said that fintech has made access to credit easy and inclusive, and gave the example of PM SVANidhi scheme that has enabled street vendors to avail collateral-free loans and further expand their business with the help of digital transactions. "Sustainable <keyword id="19900794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economic-growth" source="keywords">economic growth</keyword> is India's priority today," he said and emphasised that the government is creating robust, transparent and efficient systems to strengthen financial markets with advanced technologies and regulatory frameworks. About 800 speakers, including policymakers, regulators, senior bankers, industry captains, and academicians, from India and other countries are participating in the fest.

Removed Angel Tax, taking policy measures to promote fintech sector: PM Modi

<ul><li>The government has warned about a new way <keyword id="19962622" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="scammers" source="keywords">scammers</keyword> are trying to obtain <keyword id="20189059" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personal-information" source="keywords">personal information</keyword>.</li><li>Users have reportedly received an SMS asking them to update their PAN to unblock their <keyword id="20417750" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bank-account" source="keywords">bank account</keyword>.</li><li>Here's everything you need to know about the <keyword id="22918614" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fake-PAN-SMS" source="keywords">fake PAN SMS</keyword> and how to stay safe.</li></ul>Increased usage of the internet has also resulted in an increase in <keyword id="20025584" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-fraud" source="keywords">online fraud</keyword>. Scammers are finding new ways to fool people and steal from them. A new method has now been revealed, which preys on users with an account in <keyword id="19985316" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Post-Payments-Bank" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="India Post Payments Bank" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="India Post Payments Bank">India Post Payments Bank</keyword>. According to a post by PIB Fact Check, several users have received an SMS which claims to be from India Post Payments Bank. However, the message is fake and is an attempt to steal user data. “This claim is #Fake. @IndiaPostOffice never sends any such messages. Never share your personal &amp; bank details with anyone,” PIB Fact Check said in its post on X. <div type="twitter" handle="PIBFactCheck" handlename="PIBFactCheck" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1825494609881170290"></div> <h2>What is the fake PAN SMS?</h2> In the SMS, the user is warned that their India Post Payments Bank account has been blocked. It then asks the users to update their PAN to get their account unblocked. The user is then given a link, asking them to click on the link to update their PAN. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111512587" title="Jio vs Airtel vs Vi recharge plans comparison – plan benefits and price comparison after tariff hike" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> The link then redirects the user to a <keyword id="20182216" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="phishing" source="keywords">phishing</keyword> page, aimed at stealing user data such as their bank account login details to gain access to their account. Once you enter your bank account login details, they will be sent to the scammer. <h2>What is phishing?</h2>Phishing is a cyber-attack where attackers impersonate legitimate organisations or individuals to trick people into revealing sensitive information like passwords or credit card details. This is usually done through deceptive emails, messages, or fake websites. <h2>How to stay safe from phishing attacks?</h2>Here are some ways you can identify phishing attacks and stay safe: <ul><li>Verify the sender: Check the sender’s email address or phone number carefully. Phishers often use addresses that look similar to legitimate ones but have small differences.</li><li>Look for red flags: Be wary of unexpected messages, especially those requesting sensitive information or containing urgent or threatening language.</li><li>Verify before opening: Only open attachments from trusted sources. Phishing emails often contain malware disguised as legitimate files.</li><li>Add two-factor authentication: Enable two-factor authentication on your accounts. This adds an additional layer of security even if your password is compromised.</li><li>Contact directly: If you receive a request for sensitive information, verify the request by contacting the organisation directly through known and trusted channels.</li><li>Report phishing attempts: Report phishing emails to your email provider or the relevant authorities. This helps in tracking and stopping phishing schemes.</li></ul>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/how-to/how-to-add-music-to-instagram-profile/articleshow/112732934.cms">You can now add music to your Instagram profile – here's how</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/2024-tvs-jupiter-vs-honda-activa-6g-which-110cc-scooter-should-you-buy/slidelist/112730069.cms">2024 TVS Jupiter vs Honda Activa 6G – which 110cc scooter should you buy?</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/iqoo-z9s-pro-vs-moto-edge-50-fusion-which-is-the-best-smartphone-under-25000/slidelist/112703633.cms">iQOO Z9s Pro vs Moto Edge 50 Fusion – which is the best smartphone under ₹25,000?</a>

Govt warns about fake SMS asking users to update their PAN – what it is and how to stay safe

Worried about your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-score/what-is-a-credit-score">credit score</a>? Maybe you weren't before, but now that I mention it you may be wondering when the last time you checked it was. Even if you're pretty sure it's fine, the topic is often enough to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/financial-therapist-talk-about-anxiety-money-2023-3">cause a moment of panic</a>, a sinking feeling followed by an "Oh God, what if something's happened?"That little three-digit number is a big deal in our financial lives. It serves as a sort of grade for how you handle money. An A gets you approval for an apartment and a decent rate on your car loan; an F gets your rental application turned down and makes your car insurance more expensive. You might not have even realized it, but your credit report <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-cleaning-up-your-credit-can-help-you-land-a-job-2013-9">could even make a difference in whether you land your next job</a>.The anxiety around credit scores is palpable. It's also lucrative. Credit bureaus, startups, and even one-man operations can make a lot of money by playing into people's fears about their credit. They offer services that monitor credit scores and alert you when yours changes, or they say they can help you repair your damaged credit — for a price, of course. Many of these costly solutions do not work as well as promised or deliver much, if any, bang for your buck."The credit-scoring companies have figured out how to profit on the anxiety of consumers with credit watch and credit monitoring and all of these add-on programs," said Aaron Klein, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank. "When companies find a way to profit off of anxiety, they have an incentive to create anxiety."What these companies won't tell you is that the best things to help ease your credit-related worries are cheap, even free. You can check your credit regularly at no cost from a lot of sources — your credit-card company likely tells you your score, and you can access your report weekly free of charge too. Freezing your credit also doesn't run you anything. It's important to be aware of your credit score, but you don't need to obsess over it — or let marketers convince you to pay for a bunch of stuff you don't really need because you're panicked.Around the time of the Super Bowl, I noticed that the Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was appearing in ads for Experian, one of the big three bureaus responsible for keeping track of everyone's credit scores. I <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-kelce-experian-tv-commercials-nfl-taylor-swift-super-bowl-2024-2">decided to write about it</a> and, in the process, created an Experian account. The company has been hounding me ever since. I get near-daily emails that range from run-of-the-mill product offers and "credit alerts" to nerve-racking warnings that my information may have been part of a data breach. When I click for more information, lo and behold, I'm confronted with a paid service. For $25 a month, I can sign up for "Experian CreditWorks Premium," which includes quarterly credit reports, credit monitoring, and identity protection. Once I decline that offer, which is kind of tricky, I can also find an offer to "lock" my credit for $5 a month. It's similar to a credit freeze, which blocks creditors from accessing your credit file, but can also do things like notify you if someone tries to access your Experian credit report. Here's the thing, though: A lot of the services it's offering are already free."There's no reason ever to pay for credit monitoring," said Chi Chi Wu, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. "There's no reason to pay for a credit score or pay for service for the credit score."In Wu's view, Experian is an especially bad offender — not just for its suite of likely unnecessary products but because, as part of its standard agreement, the company makes customers agree to mandatory arbitration, meaning you don't get to sue if Experian has a big screwup later. In an email, a spokesperson for Experian said that the company is "committed to financial inclusion" and that its free membership has tools to help consumers improve their financial health. "Millions of members find value in having Experian as their financial co-pilot helping them improve, manage, and protect their financial profile," the spokesperson said. They did not address the arbitration agreement. But Experian is hardly the only company out there selling credit-related services that drain consumer dollars. The credit-monitoring and identity-theft-protection industry, according to IBISWorld, is worth about $5.4 billion in annual revenue. The growth of the industry makes sense — in this day and age, data breaches are constant, and a fraudulent ding on your credit report or someone opening an account in your name can be an enormous headache. Guarding against that outcome seems like a small price to pay for a lot of people, except that paying any price above $0 may not actually be worth it.A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nclc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IB_Credit_Monitoring_Arbitration.pdf">2022 brief</a> from the NCLC described credit-monitoring bundles as often "expensive and ineffective" and argued that they failed to meaningfully benefit consumers. It noted that most identity theft takes place in existing accounts, meaning monitoring services that alert consumers to newly opened accounts miss it. They also often fail to catch fraud related to medical services or tax refunds. And even when they do catch identity theft, they do so after the fact."Some people might be like, 'Well, I'd rather pay and not deal with the time,'" Wu said. "But the thing is those products aren't all that effective."A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-17-254.pdf">2017 report from the Government Accountability Office</a> was pretty negative on the whole monitoring and identity-theft-protection business, too, saying it's just not clear how helpful a lot of this stuff is. The report also looked at identity-theft insurance and noted that while it covered expenses related to dealing with the theft, it generally excluded actual financial losses. While credit monitoring falls into the waste-of-money category, other credit-related services can cross over into potentially predatory territory — for example, credit-repair operations. The idea behind these services is pretty simple: Credit reports often include some mistakes that can ding people's scores. So, for a fee, the companies will dispute a bunch of items in hopes of boosting the score. This may improve people's reports temporarily while the disputes are being investigated, but since the firms are basically disputing anything negative, when they lose, everything goes back to how it was, and the customer is just out more money."They're basically charging people with the false promise that they're going to be able to fix their credit reports and credit scores permanently when they can't," said Sarah Chenven, the CEO of Working Credit, a nonprofit that helps people build credit.Credit-repair companies often target people with lower incomes and people desperate to improve their credit reports and scores. Gen Zers and millennials, who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.creditkarma.com/insights/i/state-of-debt-and-credit-report#average-credit-scores">tend to have lower credit scores</a> than older generations and may not have extensive credit files, may be more likely to find themselves looking at a credit-repair service to get negative items off their reports or at some sort of credit-building service to just help them develop a record. Credit-monitoring companies can really appeal to anyone worried about their credit and identity theft. Some of these businesses also make money by marketing various financial products to people — a well-off boomer might get one type of credit-card offer, a struggling student another.The companies also don't do anything people can't do on their own — if there's an error, you can and should dispute it yourself. In fact, credit-repair agencies can be less effective than the average person at getting mistakes wiped from their credit histories because, as Andrew Pizor, a senior attorney at the NCLC, explained, the law says that credit-reporting agencies have to respond only to dispute letters directly from consumers. Credit-repair businesses try really hard to make it seem like disputes are from consumers, and the agencies try just as hard to sniff out whether that's going on."Most of the letters that you're paying for are going into the garbage," Pizor said. He added that if your dispute letters are going unanswered, you don't need a repair service — you need a lawyer.Federal regulators have gone after several companies accused of playing it fast and loose with the way they approach consumers. In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settled with TransUnion over charges related to how it was marketing its products, including credit monitoring, and ordered it to stop deceptive practices. In 2022, it sued TransUnion, accusing it of violating that order. In 2005, it dinged Experian for marketing free credit reports that weren't so free. Last year, the CFPB entered into a $2.7 billion settlement with a ring of credit-repair brands accused of illegally collecting fees for their services. Over a decade ago, the Federal Trade Commission and 35 states reached a $12 million settlement with LifeLock after alleging that it had made false claims about its identity-theft-protection services.These companies and credit-related services aren't necessarily evil. A significant part of the issue is that the ecosystem is a mess. Our credit-reporting and -scoring system is outdated and confusing, and so are a lot of the businesses that have sprung from it. Even the seemingly good products and services out there are a sign of the deep rot at the core of the whole system. Credit-building loans, which are loans designed to help people without much credit history build some, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/targeting-credit-builder-loans/">can help people get on better financial footing</a>, even if there is usually some cost involved. Immigrants and young people in particular can benefit.Companies such as Credit Karma that let you access a lot of your information easily and for free make it so your credit score isn't such a mystery. The downside there is that they make their money by giving your information to a bunch of third-party financial products and taking a cut if you sign up for one of them. For consumers, the whole thing feels like a maze. It's tough to separate the good actors from the bad and to understand the trade-offs at hand. It's not always clear what you're signing up for, whether you need it, or what you're going to wind up paying."The credit system and the financial system, and I hate to sound a little preachy, but it's a black box," said Ryan Steckler, a vice president of product and general manager at Credit Karma. "Given that situation, we're in the business of empowering our consumers by giving them access to the same data those financial institutions have."It would be neat to be able to say that some concrete help is on the way, but the truth is we're stuck with some not-so-fun realities around credit scores for the foreseeable future. As screwed up as the system is, it's probably not going anywhere anytime soon, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cash-flow-underwriting.asp">even though there are better alternatives out there</a>.There is this sense of existential dread around credit scores. A negative one can really drag people down. An impaired record makes loans more expensive, makes accessing certain financial products impossible, and may even put your next apartment or job out of reach. Klein, from the Brookings Institution, has recently been conducting focus groups with low-income consumers about their financial knowledge and concerns. He's been shocked at how much credit scores have come up."I was very surprised at the attention to detail folks of more modest income have on the impact of financial products and choices on their credit scores," he said. "The more I thought about it, the more I realized this focus is based on experience. At some point, their low credit score has negatively impacted their lives."Frederick Wherry, a Princeton sociologist who leads the Debt Collection Lab, an initiative focused on understanding debt collection, added: "As soon as we are asked about our credit scores, or in a moment when we can't get something we need or we get it at too high a price, that's when we realize that this thing has been hanging over our heads." It's unwise to bury your head in the sand, ignore your credit score, and hope for the best. But you don't need to obsess over it, let alone spend a bunch of money on it. If you're not in the market for a house or apartment or in need of a new loan, you can freeze your credit for free, meaning no fraudsters can take out a loan in your name. Under federal law, the bureaus have to give you one free credit report a year, and since the pandemic they've been letting people access their reports for free once a week. If you see something weird on your report, you can dispute it on your own. And you really do not need to be checking that much — once a month or once a quarter is fine, kind of like your 401(k)."If you have a credit score over 720 or 780, stop worrying. Don't be obsessed with getting an 800 or 820," Wu said. "This is not your SAT score."If you're in trouble, there are nonprofits out there that can help you figure out what to do, for little or no money."If you've got bad credit, if your credit score is low, where I'd start is with a nonprofit credit counselor," Pizor said.If you want to sign up for identity-theft protection or credit monitoring, fine. But those services aren't a fail-safe, so you'll want to walk in with your eyes wide open. The credit experts I spoke with were very wary about credit repair across the board. The next time you start to worry about your credit score, take a beat. Not to get too woo-woo here, but really, there's only so much you can control."I mean, the magic bullet is building a better system," Wu said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

The best way to fix your credit score? Ignore it.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Credit Card Competition Act would lower credit card swipe fees. </li><li>Major airlines have said that the bill could reduce or completely end travel reward programs. </li></ul>When Jess Bohorquez stayed in a luxury hotel with a view of the Sydney Opera House, she didn't pay a cent.The influencer and creator of "Points By J," a platform that teaches people tricks for low-cost travel, said she uses <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-card-competition-act-airlines-flyer-miles-dick-durbin-2023-10">credit card points</a> to upgrade her vacations and teaches her audience of over 180,000 Instagram followers to do the same. Since she started accumulating travel points a few years ago, Bohorquez told Business Insider she's gotten discounted flight upgrades, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/how-to-book-free-travel-cheap-deals-credit-card-rewards">free hotel stays</a>, and trip insurance through her Chase credit card. She even has access to premium lounges at most airports. "It gets you hooked once you have that first successful points deduction for free travel," said Bohorquez, adding that it's easy to get perks if you know the rules of your credit card. "It's such an exciting feeling."However, those perks could be in danger of disappearing. The US credit card market <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/visa-mastercard-merchants-agreement-impacts-credit-cards-reward-programs-2024-3">is at a crossroads</a>: Politicians and companies are struggling to compromise on how much card swipe fees should cost, who should get the money, and how all of it will impact consumers.More than eight in 10 Americans use a credit card to make payments, get cash back, and build credit, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2023-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2022-banking-credit.htm">according to The Federal Reserve</a>. About <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/how-the-41-of-americans-with-a-travel-credit-card-can-boost-rewards">40% of those people</a> have a card that is co-branded with a major airline.Some lawmakers hope to bring more competition to the market, in hopes of limiting the power of major credit card companies and lowering fees. But airlines and travelers worry it could mean the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/credit-cards-congress-competition-act-rewards-wipe-out-southwest-2023-10#:~:text=The%20Credit%20Card%20Competition%20Act%2C%20introduced%20by%20Sen.,Mastercard%20in%20credit%20card%20transactions.">end of rewards programs</a>.<h2>Major airlines' bottom line depends on credit card companies</h2>The <a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/s1838/BILLS-118s1838is.xml">Credit Card Competition Act</a>, which was introduced to Congress in June 2023 would require major banks to use at least one credit card payment network that isn't <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/visa-mastercard-lawsuit-settlement-credit-card-fees-checkout-2024-3">Mastercard or Visa</a> — companies that control more than 80% of US credit card transactions — to introduce more competition into the credit card market.Visa and Mastercard currently charge businesses about a 3% transaction fee when a customer uses their credit card. The more people that use a credit card, the more revenue banks and card companies make.That's where airlines come in.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/airlines-banks-mileage-programs/675374/">Airlines make money</a> off selling tickets and offering in-flight purchases. But <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/best-airline-credit-cards">co-branded credit cards</a> like Chase Sapphire Preferred, Delta SkyMiles, and the United Explorer Card are profit centers for banks and airlines.The airlines sell banks "points." Credit card holders are then awarded those points for spending money with the co-branded card. Banks and credit card companies make money off of the swipe fees, and airlines only have to pay for the points if they are actually redeemed by travelers. It also makes travelers more likely to choose their specific airline whenever they fly.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dick-durbin-joe-biden-think-twice-trump-debate-2024-1">Sen. Dick Durbin</a>, a Democrat from Illinois, is the lead sponsor of the Credit Card Competition Act. In a statement to Business Insider, he said the bill would introduce necessary competition into the credit card market.Durbin worries that major airlines are becoming like "credit card companies that fly planes.""(Airlines) want to protect the billions of dollars in windfall profits they collect through sweetheart deals they have negotiated with the biggest Wall Street banks at the expense of consumers and local businesses," he wrote.Durbin said his bill would not end travel rewards.<h2>Credit card rewards incentivize travelers</h2>Businesses typically make up for these credit card swipe fees by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/visa-mastercard-swipe-fees-premium-credit-cards-2024-3">raising prices for customers</a>. In theory, increasing competition and lowering swipe fees would translate into more affordable consumer prices.This could mean cheaper — or at least more stable — prices for buyers, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/how-the-visa-mastercard-swipe-fee-settlement-affects-cardholders#:~:text=It%20could%20lower%20costs%20for,reductions%20end%20after%20five%20years.&amp;text=Sara%20Rathner%20is%20a%20NerdWallet%20travel%20and%20credit%20cards%20expert.">per NerdWallet</a>.Bohorquez, however, said increased credit card competition is unlikely to lower prices in practice. Instead, she said business airlines and credit companies will be less incentivized to offer loyalty perks like frequent-flyer miles and fraud protections.Major airlines <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-billcredit-card-fees-kill-flier-miles-united-scott-kirby-2023-10">have already said</a> the Credit Card Competition Act could end these reward programs. Southwest Airlines said in a statement to BI that it "strongly opposes" the bill."This legislation is bad policy and would undermine, if not completely end, credit card rewards programs that millions of Americans rely on for their vacations or personal travel needs," Southwest wrote.United Airlines referred BI to Airlines for America, a lobbying group that represents the US airline industry. Delta and American Airlines did not respond to BI by the time of publication.Airlines for America said <a target="_blank" href="https://www.airlines.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Durbin-Marshall-Letter-FINAL-.pdf">in a press release</a> from July that airlines believe credit card competition would harm their "ability to reward our most enthusiastic customers' loyalty and putting the viability of these programs at risk."Still, it's unclear whether the Competition Act will become law. The bill was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in July, but hasn't yet been passed by the House or Senate.Until more movement on the bill occurs, Bohorquez plans to make the most of her rewards."I'm not terribly worried about our points going anywhere anytime soon," she said. "I hope that people continue to earn and enjoy their credit card points and take a lot of free trips."Do you use your credit card for travel rewards? Have you saved money on a vacation by using points? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" href="mailto:allisonkelly@insider.com">allisonkelly@insider.com</a>.<h2></h2>

Here's what the Credit Card Competition Act could do to your airline miles and travel rewards

<ul class="summary-list"><li>CrowdStrike sent its partners a $10 UberEats gift card after last week's global IT outage.</li><li>The company said Uber flagged the gift cards as fraud because of high user rates.</li></ul>CrowdStrike, the cyber security firm responsible for last week's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-you-need-know-crowdstrike-it-outage-airlines-disruption-2024-7">global tech outage</a>, is thanking its partners for their extra work in the aftermath of the crash with $10 Uber Eats gift cards.Social media users began posting <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/david__exe/status/1815908023296221372">screenshots</a> of the gift cards and an accompanying CrowdStrike email online on Tuesday, with some <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/christappin/status/1816039053357375720?s=46&amp;t=lLf2YRXhv7kG_Tw6dp_nCA">complaining</a> that the credit didn't work when they tried to redeem it.A spokesperson for CrowdStrike confirmed to Business Insider that the company sent the vouchers to its partners who are part of the Accelerate Program, meaning they sell and manage CrowdStrike for customers."CrowdStrike did not send gift cards to customers or clients," the spokesperson said. "We did send these to our teammates and partners who have been helping customers through this situation. Uber flagged it as fraud because of high usage rates."Screenshots shared with BI by an employee at a cloud reseller, who asked not to be named for fear of professional repercussions, show an Uber Eats voucher that CrowdStrike provided on Tuesday afternoon, a second email saying the voucher had been canceled about four hours after the initial email, and a third email reinstating the voucher.The first email, which was addressed to CrowdStrike partners, was signed by Daniel Bernard, chief business officer at the company."We recognize the additional work that the July 19 incident has caused. And for that, we send our heartfelt thanks and apologies for the inconvenience," Bernard wrote.The email included technical updates about the company's cloud services and a QR code for Uber Eats."To express our gratitude, your next cup of coffee or late-night snack is on us!" Bernard wrote.The anonymous Cloud reseller also shared screenshots with BI of an email from Uber Eats showing that the voucher was "discontinued by the provider" about four hours after the initial CrowdStrike email and "no longer available to use."About four hours after the Uber Eats voucher was canceled, the source got another email with a $10 credit and the message, "You've been sent a Oops! Error occurred. Enjoy $10 from CrowdStrike! Uber eats voucher!"The source said the follow-up voucher worked when he redeemed it.Several <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/msp/comments/1eao0fn/crowdstrike_sent_me_10_as_a_thanks/">Reddit users</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/JohnnySorenson3/status/1816145260738744369">X posters</a> shared similar stories on Tuesday and Wednesday, expressing frustration over their <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/1337ice_cream/status/1815958499496472859">difficulty</a> redeeming the gift cards.The CrowdStrike spokesperson told BI that Uber flagged the gift cards as fraud because so many people were redeeming them. The company did not immediately answer a follow-up question about how many vouchers were sent out.The Friday outage impacted operations worldwide, with flights grounded, TV networks forced off the air, and medical procedures canceled.CrowdStrike said a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crowdstrike-memo-explains-faulty-update-it-outage-2024-7">defect</a>" in an update for Windows was responsible for the outage.The source who shared screenshots of the Uber Eats emails said he was "sort of watching it unfold from the sidelines," adding that the outage had "no impact to me or anything I do at work."A cyber insurance executive told BI last week that the outage might have cost the economy "tens of billions of dollars." Many of the businesses impacted by the outage are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/businesses-claiming-losses-crowdstrike-outage-insurance-billions-losses-cyber-policies-2024-7">already looking to recoup their losses.</a>CrowdStrike, meanwhile, only owes its customers a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crowdstrike-terms-conditions-limits-damages-to-refund-2024-7">refund of subscription fees</a>, a cybersecurity lawyer told BI last week, citing the company's terms and agreements.

CrowdStrike sent its partners $10 Uber Eats gift cards as an apology for mass IT outage

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Credit card skimmers are increasingly targeting the financially vulnerable nationwide.</li><li>The FBI estimates card skimming costs consumers and banks around $1 billion yearly.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-fake-credit-card-readers-look-real-how-avoid-skimmers-2023-7">Credit card skimmers</a> are on the rise nationwide and they're targeting the country's most financially vulnerable people.The FBI estimates that card skimming costs consumers and banks around $1 billion each year. Last year, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fico.com/blogs/debit-card-compromises-nearly-doubled-2023-fico-data#:~:text=Now%20that%20we%27ve%20reviewed,than%20315%2C000%20impacted%20cards%20identified.">Fair, Isaac and Company</a>, a financial data analytics firm, found that debit card skimming grew by a whopping 96% compared to the previous year.Last month, the federal agents from the Secret Service swept through 472 business in Florida after reports of increased EBT scam fraud, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2024/06/27/secret-service-agents-swept-120-jacksonville-businesses-to-search-for-skimmer-devices-news4jax-got-exclusive-access/">WJXT</a> reported. Police found 13 devices statewide. The Secret Service estimated that police prevented around $1.3 million of losses through the operations, WJXT reported.Authorities nationwide say reports of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-phishing-scams-automation-detection-2024-6">card skimming and EBT fraud</a> have increased over the past year.The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services said this week it found an "alarming surge in fraud" related to EBT skimming. The agency estimates EBT recipients lost around $5.5 million over the past two years from the fraud, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/wa-facing-alarming-surge-in-ebt-card-scams/">The Seattle Times</a> reported.Authorities in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.29news.com/2024/07/03/charlottesville-social-services-warns-about-snap-ebt-scammers/">Virginia</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2024/07/02/ebt-card-skimming">New York</a>, and other states have also issued similar warnings in recent weeks.The New York Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance issued an EBT scam <a target="_blank" href="https://otda.ny.gov/">alert</a> on July 2, warning of increases in card skimming and phishing. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fresno-officials-should-notice-phishing-scam-jury-trial-court-california-2024-6">Phishing</a> is a form of scamming where criminals try to obtain your personal information by pretending to be someone you know or trust; perpetrators will often send emails purporting to be from your bank or from a social media platform you use.While card skimmers are efficient in stealing data, EBT cards usually require a PIN number that they can't easily lift from the machine, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2024/05/protect-your-snap-benefits-illegal-card-skimmers">FTC</a>.The scammers use phishing tactics like texting or set up hidden cameras next to cash registers to steal the PIN numbers, the agency says.To avoid card skimming scams, the FTC recommends checking to see if the card reader is loose when paying, changing your EBT PIN number at least once a month, be vigilant for phishing, and regularly check the amount held in your EBT account.The NY Office of Temporary Disability also recommends checking for discoloration between the body of the machine and the card reader."The easiest way to check for a skimmer is to gently pull up on the terminal. They are flimsy and will come right off," the agency says. "If you notice any signs that a skimmer may be in use do not swipe your card and alert the store manager. Contact the police and notify your local department of social services as soon as possible."

Card skimmers are hard to spot and on the rise. Here's what you can do to protect yourself.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A 23-count indictment was filed Tuesday against Rep. George Santos for fraud and identity theft.</li><li>Federal prosecutors say the New York Republican stole donor credit card information to pay his own campaign.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-criminal-charges-justice-department-cnn-2023-5">Rep. George Santos</a> on Tuesday was hit with 23 new charges of conspiracy, wire and credit card fraud, falsification of records, and aggravated identity theft.In the superseding indictment, officials for the US Attorney's Office Eastern District of New York said the New York Republican stole donor credit card information to pay his own campaign."As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing people's identities and making charges on his own donors' credit cards without their authorization, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-false-campaign-reports-prosecutors-2023-10">lying to the FEC</a> and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign," United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/congressman-george-santos-charged-conspiracy-wire-fraud-false-statements-0?s=09">statement</a> announcing the charges. "Santos falsely inflated the campaign's reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen."Officials in the indictment detailed two different schemes they allege Santos used to present his campaign as more financially viable than it actually was then later steal credit card information from donors to pay for his campaign.The first involved Santos and his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, falsifying FEC <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-former-campaign-fundraiser-indicted-in-new-york-2023-8">campaign fundraising</a> records "for the purpose of misleading the FEC, a national party committee, and the public," according to the indictment. The false documents included a $500,000 loan Santos was recorded to have provided to his campaign, when prosecutors say he couldn't have possibly afforded it — because he had less than $8,000 in his personal and business bank accounts. In addition prosecutors allege that, between December 2021 and August 2022, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/when-will-george-santos-be-censured-2023-7">Santos</a> developed and executed a plan to systematically steal the identity and financial information of his donors, ultimately transferring the stolen funds to his campaign, the campaigns of other candidates running for office, and to his own bank account."Santos repeatedly charged the Contributor's credit card without the Contributor's knowledge or authorization, attempting to make at least $44,800 in charges and repeatedly concealing the true source of funds by falsely listing the source of funds as Santos himself, his relatives and other contributors," per the indictment. "On one occasion, Santos charged $12,000 to the Contributor's credit card, ultimately transferring the vast majority of that money into his personal bank account."The superseding indictment comes as Santos is already facing a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-in-custody-faces-20-years-prison-charges-2023-5">possible 20-year prison sentence</a> for similar charges filed in May, in which federal prosecutors charged him with 13 counts, including charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. The May indictment detailed accusations against Santos of stealing supporters' money, illegally taking unemployment payouts, and lying to Congress.Neither Santos' lawyer nor his press secretary immediately responded to requests for comment from Insider. He has previously denied the charges against him.

George Santos accused of stealing campaign donors' credit card information and paying his own campaign in new superseding indictment

<ul class="summary-list"><li>George Santos's former roommate alleged that the congressman was in charge of an ATM fraud scheme.</li><li>The former roommate alleged that Santos taught and provided "all the material" for the scheme.</li></ul>A former roommate of Rep. George Santos is claiming that the New York congressman was 'in charge' of a fraudulent credit card operation that took place out of Florida, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/09/santos-masterminded-atm-fraud-feds-00086417" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to a sworn declaration that was obtained and first reported on by Politico</a>.The former roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, was convicted and deported to Brazil for his involvement in the scheme in 2017. <a href="https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000186-c7bb-d9f3-abef-cfff6b220000" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His letter</a>, dated Wednesday, was sent by his attorney and addressed to the FBI, the Eastern District New York court, and the US Secret Service."Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards," Trelha said in the sworn statement. "He gave me all the material and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines."Santos's attorney, Joseph Murray, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.According to the declaration, Trelha met Santos around 2016 when he began renting a room out of Santos's apartment in Florida. At the time, Trelha knew Santos as Anthony Devolder. The congressman's full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos.It's around then when Santos began teaching him about the inner workings of an ATM and credit card scheme, Trelha said."Santos had a warehouse located on Kirkman Road in Orlando, Florida," Trelha alleged. "He had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information. Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information."The attorney who helped Trelha file the sworn declaration did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.When Trelha was arrested in 2017, the former roommate alleged in the statement that Santos visited him in a Seattle jail."He told me in jail not to say anything about him," Trelha wrote. "Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss."Trelha's declaration appears to contradict Santos's previous characterization not only of their relationship but also of the congressman's role in the scheme.<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/24/george-santos-lied-to-a-judge-in-2017-bid-to-help-a-family-friend-charged-with-fraud-00084341" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In an interview with Politico</a>, Santos's lawyer friend, Tiffany Bogosian, said that Santos told her his role in the scheme was as an "informant."Santos also told a Seattle judge during Trelha's hearing that the roommate was actually a "family friend."Trelha spent seven months in jail before he was deported to Brazil in 2018."Santos did not help me to get out of jail," Trelha alleged. "He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail."Santos's tenure as a freshman congressman has been plagued by allegations of his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-employment-college-pulse-shooting-residence-history-2022-12">elaborate lies</a>, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-probes-george-santos-gofundme-money-veteran-dying-service-dog-2023-2">GoFundMe scam</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/george-santos-charged-theft-bad-checks-puppies-amish-breeders-2023-2">a theft charge that was dropped in 2020,</a> among other scandals — some of which are now a part of ongoing investigations.<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/09/santos-charged-theft-2017-dog-breeders-00082091" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico reported</a> how Santos was charged with theft in 2017 and accused of writing back checks worth thousands of dollars that were meant to be sent to Amish dog breeders in Pennsylvania. The charge was dismissed and expunged from his record after Santos claimed his checkbook was stolen, Politico reported.

George Santos was 'in charge' of a credit card fraud scheme, former roommate alleged, contradicting what the congressman previously said about his role in the case: report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A 33-year old who used the dark web to steal $500,000 and buy <keyword id="6354947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bitcoin">bitcoin</keyword> has been sentenced to prison.</li><li>Aaron Laws used <keyword id="3738396" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="burner-phones">burner phones</keyword> and recruited accomplices to avoid detection, a Seattle court said.</li><li>He bought a diamond-encrusted bitcoin pendant and a Rolex that cost more than $34,000.</li></ul> A "prolific identity thief" who fraudulently used credit cards, pocketed $500,000, and bought <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/btc-usd">bitcoin</a> has been sentenced to three years in prison, the US District Court in Seattle <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/identity-thief-who-used-bitcoin-burner-phones-and-digital-wallets-steal-more-500000">announced</a> on Friday.Aaron Laws of Atlanta, Georgia, the 33-year-old suspect, employed a sophisticated scheme that involved recruiting accomplices, operating digital wallets and burner phones, and using bitcoin to avoid detection, Acting US Attorney Tessa Gorman said."Motivated by greed, this defendant attempted to use digital advances to hide his old-fashioned fraud," Gorman said in a statement."At all phases - from accessing the dark web, to loading stolen data onto digital wallets, to acquiring prepaid anonymous phones, to adopting aliases, to laundering money through anonymous cryptocurrency accounts - his operation was sophisticated and difficult to detect. But ultimately <keyword id="6355470" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="law">law</keyword> enforcement stopped him in his tracks."Laws acquired credit card information from "carding websites" on the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dark-web-changed-the-world-black-markets-arab-spring-2020-3">dark web</a> to carry out his scheme, the District Court said, citing case records. Such illegal websites are used to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-stolen-credit-card-info-is-worth-to-hackers-2015-11">share stolen credit card data</a> and for criminal activity.He stored this information on digital wallets on prepaid phones, then immediately used it to make fraudulent purchases of luxury goods and items that could be sold for cash or bitcoin, the court said. He also bought a diamond-encrusted bitcoin pendant and a Rolex watch that cost more than $34,000.<div type="image" title="Bitcoin diamond pendent" height="327" width="437" msid="84376016" hostid="261"></div>Laws spent about $166,000 on bitcoin between February and November 2017, buying 56% of that amount in just one day - on August 23, 2017. He was arrested in October of that year, having to serve time in jail on the weekends. But he continued to commit fraud across the country, the statement said.He "had a very complicated criminal enterprise and nothing seemed to deter him," US District Judge Robert Lasnik said at the sentence hearing.Laws pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated <keyword id="429939" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Identity-theft">identity theft</keyword> on January 31, and was ordered to make a $623,554 restitution payment.Representatives for Aaron Laws could not be reached for comment.Read More: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-5-likely-short-squeeze-candidates-fintel-data-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">These 5 stocks are ripe for a short squeeze after surging in popularity this past month, according to Fintel. 2 even have the meme-friendly appeal of AMC and GameStop.</a>

You Searched For "credit card frauds" and got 12 results

One of the nicest perks on my credit card is making me a jerk

Emily Stewart

Banks have finally fixed the single most annoying thing about credit cards

Emily Stewart

Despite a rise in financial frauds, 17% of people store financial information on their smartphones

Sourabh Jain

Removed Angel Tax, taking policy measures to promote fintech sector: PM Modi

PTI

Govt warns about fake SMS asking users to update their PAN – what it is and how to stay safe

Sourabh Jain

The best way to fix your credit score? Ignore it.

Emily Stewart

Here's what the Credit Card Competition Act could do to your airline miles and travel rewards

Allie Kelly

CrowdStrike sent its partners $10 Uber Eats gift cards as an apology for mass IT outage

Erin Snodgrass,Noah Sheidlower

Card skimmers are hard to spot and on the rise. Here's what you can do to protect yourself.

Kenneth Niemeyer

George Santos accused of stealing campaign donors' credit card information and paying his own campaign in new superseding indictment

Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert,…

George Santos was 'in charge' of a credit card fraud scheme, former roommate alleged, contradicting what the congressman previously said about his role in the case: report

Lloyd Lee

A 33-year-old identity thief who bought a diamond-encrusted bitcoin pendant and stole half a million dollars gets 3 years in prison

Shalini Nagarajan

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides