Fraud Women's Network - 'From Fagin to Phishing'

Last Thursday I attended the 6th Annual Event and 5 year Celebration of  the Fraud Women’s Network (FWN). The event was called “From Fagin to Phishing” 200 Years of Organised Crime with presentations from Colin Woodcock MBE – SOCA and David Chernick - MD at TREACL Ltd, and Chair of PREFIT. Both presentations were very good and took us on a professional and personal journey of how organised crime changed through the ages? Or had it? How have organisations tackled and mitigated these changes? Have they? How has it evolved and shaped the way we tackle crime and look at fraudsters today?

But the real reason in coming together was to celebrate the FWN's 5th year anniversary, present the Stella Walsh Award and have a truly wonderful network evening where the women definitely outnumbered the men and I was one of the lucky few to be invited.

Now, some of the older, crustier and less tolerant men out there may just see this organisation as a bunch of raving feminists coming together to right all the wrongs in the world created by men. They couldn't be more wrong.  The FWN's strap line isn't we hate men, far from it. Chair, Toni Sless was recorded saying the complete opposite, but it is important to recognise there are notable differences and challenges that women face everyday. I spoke to a number of women who attended the event to ask what they get out of it and what are some of the challenges they actually face and it was all too clear that there is a distinct lack of women in senior positions within the fraud prevention and detection arena.

So what's this Fraud Women's Network actually all about then. Well any woman who works in the anti-fraud arena will know that it can sometimes be a rather male environment and lack true support and mentoring. The Fraud Women’s Network has therefore been set up to bring together women involved in all aspects of fraud prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution, to network and to share best practice, information and experience in order to help tackle the threat from fraud and organised crime head on. They aim to provide women in the anti-fraud business with:

• Networking opportunities. Our regular networking events provide an invaluable way of establishing and cementing contacts across the whole anti-fraud arena, sharing information and ideas (they also enjoy the social aspect and are good at it)
• Access to a wide-ranging education programme about the latest trends and developments in fraud and organised crime, and the newest tools to help prevent, detect and investigate fraud; 
• Mentoring opportunities. Many of the members of the Fraud Women's Network are senior within their organisations and have a great deal of knowledge, experience and advice that they can impart, as well as encouraging junior women to progress in their careers; 
• Access to the members and activities of the regional Fraud Forums, all part of the National Federation of Fraud Forums.

For all enquiries about the Network: info@fraudwomensnetwork.com or Click here: for the Fraud Women's Network website 

The winners of the Stella Walsh Award 2012 were:

• Pat Turner, Manager, Virgin Media – Long Term Commitment to Preventing Fraud.
• Jenny Playford DC, City of London Police – Outstanding Fraud Investigation

Congratulations to both, very well deserved and fascinating accounts of the work they completed.

Personally, I can see real and genuine value in this network and completely support its board, membership and objectives. Do share the above website with any women who may not be in the Network, I know they'd be welcome. I was delighted to be invited by the Chair and even more surprised and honoured to receive a mention within her introductory speech. A Big well done, congratulations and Happy Birthday to the Fraud Women's Network, keep up the good work and keep in touch.    

2012 Tickets Ballot Opens - Fraud Warning

The 2012 ticket ballot opens today, 15th March 2011. The below information relates to the fraud prevention advice that has been agreed for anyone thinking of purchasing Olympic tickets.

The advice is very simple, do not use unauthorised websites. It is very important to get this message out to everyone wishing to purchase tickets. As a lot of our blog visitors are from overseas we thought we’d post this information as it is widely agreed in fraud prevention circles that by attempting to take away the market place from the scammers it reduces to opportunity for exploitation and fraud.

The Metropolitan Police's Operation Podium urges you to follow this advice to protect you, your personal details, family and friends from being exploited by criminals.

If you’re buying a ticket for the Games:

• The 2012 ticket ballot opens today (15th March 2011). You have until 26 April to apply for tickets through LOCOG as it is not first come first served
• Only apply for a ticket online at www.tickets.london2012.com. This is London 2012’s official site. You can get a paper application from any Lloyds TSB branch, or from any public library in Northern Ireland
• If you get a ticket for an event you can’t attend, you can return your ticket to get a refund through the London 2012 official ticket exchange. Your ticket will then be officially resold
• Don’t buy a ticket from an unauthorised website or tout. You risk being scammed, and not getting the ticket you wanted and paid for
• There are only three official providers for Games Breaks and Hospitality Packages in the UK - these are:

• Thomas Cook - http://www.thomascooklondon2012.com
• Prestige Travel - http://www.prestigeticketing.london2012.com/
• Jet Set Travel - http://www.jetsetsports.com/
• Other websites or companies will not be authorised to sell you a ticket
  as part of a package.

Always check the terms and conditions to see exactly what you are being sold; If you find tickets for sale before the 15th March 2011 or available from any unauthorised source at anytime, don’t buy them. They are not genuine. Report it to http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/ or London 2012 via brandprotection@london2012.com or your local police force.

Good Luck and safe buying.

The Spy Next Door, Stealing Your Life For £44

How easy can it be to steal your life? For less than 44 quid is it possible to steal your bank account username, password and bank account security questions? For less than 44 quid is it possible to harvest your credit card details, including your credit card security code and Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode password? Is it possible to read your private Emails and access your Email account? Is it possible to monitor all your private web surfing habits and instant messenger conversations, and obtain your username and passwords for all your websites?

Click here to read the full article via the IT Security Expert's blog by Dave Whitelegg.

Pass The Password

33% of computer users actually use the same password for every single website they use. Just one in five users say they use a different password for every site (imagine how many passwords you would need)!!

Millions of web users are being asked to reset their passwords as concerns spread over a major hacking attack on the Gawker site.

The attack on Gawker, which runs one of the world's most popular blog networks, was carried out over the weekend by an organisation calling itself Gnosis.

• Tips for keeping your password safe
• Never use the same password across lots of different websites.
• Do not use a word that you - or a hacker - could find in the dictionary: these are susceptible to so-called 'brute force' attacks.
• Try to include some digits and special characters to add a layer of complexity that will make life difficult for a criminal.
• Pick a phrase or mnemonic that helps you remember your password.
• You can avoid having to remember passwords altogether by using a password manager program. There are many available to download online.

 personnel security, personnel security, personnel security, personnel security, personnel security, personnel security

Identity Fraud – The Plague of the 21st Century?

As promised below is a very interesting subject from one of our guest bloggers - Graeme Forward.

As a fraud analyst sitting down to pen his first offering for a security blog it seems to me there is only one topic I can kick off with if I want to seem hip and with it and on the pulse – yes, I speak of course of identity fraud. Identity fraud is the current ‘du jour’ crime, a terrifying new plague where just a few minutes trawling through a wheelie bin arms your local hoodie with sufficient ‘data’ to steal your money, your friends and family, your cat, your dog, your tv remote, and most importantly your self confidence and self esteem. Or so your average tabloid would have you believe.

“This ID Fraud is a menace” I hear you cry, “why not have a whole week devoted to making people more aware of it?” Good idea. So they did. It was called National Identity Fraud Prevention Week (unsurprisingly) and ran last week (17th-23rd Oct). You didn’t miss it did you?

Who is using your identity?

Now don’t get me wrong, I do think ID fraud is a problem, of course it is, and it’s only right that there are groups working to make people aware of how to prevent it. ID fraud does need to be put into perspective though. The reason it gets so much press is that it is one of the only large scale frauds which is perpetrated against individuals rather than businesses. Crime against business is rarely news.



ID fraud can take many guises but invariably the aim is to gain access to money by posing as another – thus making them responsible for it. (This begs the question why is it now possible for me to get a loan in less than 10 mins via an iPhone app or over the internet with precious little in the way of security checks? – the costs of this are already becoming apparent though, and this is a topic for another day.)

ID fraud is commonly perceived as a crime against an individual, but this is a matter for debate. If a victim of ID fraud has taken reasonable steps in their day-to-day activities to mitigate the risk then in the majority of instances the bank/building society etc will be responsible for picking up the bill, and so the party left out of pocket is rarely an individual. And with that we come to the crux. National Identity Fraud Prevention Week is not the selfless, philanthropic event it seemed at first glance – businesses understand that if they can get you to do all the hard work for them they can save themselves an awful lot of money. This is corporate fraud prevention on a national scale and I have to admit I’m impressed. Just as we were all starting to feel sorry for those poor banks again.

Worryingly, in this modern world of social networking, professional hackers and spyware, the main message to come out of National Identity Fraud Prevention Week was “get a shredder”. Conveniently, most of the companies involved in the awareness drive are able to supply you with one at a very reasonable price.



Overall, NIFPW didn’t quite achieve what it set out to. As so often is the case with these initiatives, it was the security and fraud professionals who were most aware of it – yet another case of our industries preaching to the converted. Unfortunately as with so many things, it’s not until someone becomes a victim of this kind of crime that they sit up and take notice, but by then it’s too late. So maybe fraud prevention on a macro scale isn’t quite as impressive as I first thought. Guess it’s back to the drawing board. Maybe we’d more successful if we stopped trying to preach to people and allowed them to use some common sense. Protecting yourself from ID crime is after all just about being aware and being sensible about what you do with your personal information, whether it’s online or on paper.



One final thought – There was one genuinely alarming statistic to come out of NIFPW. It seems that almost a third of all ID frauds are committed by someone the victim knows – most often a member of the family. Maybe NIFPW’s message should really have been – take your chances with the wheelie bin hoodies- rather that than leave your info lying around on the bottom of the stairs where your auntie or uncle might pick it up.

My top 5 tips to help prevent you becoming a victim of ID fraud:

- Be careful how you deal with credit/debit cards particularly when out and about. Never write down pin numbers or let your card out of your site when making a transaction.

- Think carefully about the information you display on social networking sites – your settings may only let your ‘friends’ see your information, but these 250 or so people you spoke to once at school 20 years ago are not always quite as ‘friendly’ as their supposed status would suggest

- Never give any bank details out in response to unsolicited phone calls or emails. Fraudsters are very good at forging documents or presenting themselves as a bonafide company, but your bank will never ask you to provide your pin no or the whole of your password.

- Don’t stress about it, just be sensible. Use your common sense and be mindful of how personal information could be interpreted or used.

- Get a shredder.

Don’t pay for Skype – It’s a scam

Action Fraud states that Internet users are being warned to watch out for a scam that charges money for what appears to be an upgrade of Skype. Check out this, other current fraud threats and how to report fraud at http://www.actionfraud.org.uk/ or read more

Cash Machine Device Found

This is a crime that we haven't heard much about in recent years. Do you always check the cash machines you are using for anything that shouldn't be there or looks a little out of place?!

http://www.securityoracle.com/news/detail.html?id=17331

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

TfL Press Release - Crime falls again on the Tube as investment in security continues

Transport for London (TfL) has announced that crime on the Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) went down by 4% in 2009/10.

Some of the most notable statistics released by the British Transport Police (BTP) showed that:

• Violent crime has been cut by nearly eight per cent
• Public disorder offences are down by around 23 per cent
• Vandalism has reduced by 17%
• Drug-related offences have seen a reduction of nearly 22%
• Pick pocketing has seen an 11% rise

Following the increase in theft of passenger property TfL has worked with the BTP on dedicated operations to tackle these offences and pickpocket figures are already starting to see a significant reduction.

Continued improvements in safety and physical security on trains and stations, as well as TfL's ongoing collaborative work with the BTP, have helped with this overall reduction. But there is always more that can be done which is why significant resources are devoted to catching and prosecuting criminals and CCTV cameras across the network are being increased from 12,000 to more than 14,000 in years to come.

In addition London Underground (LU) is consulting on changes with trade unions on operational staffing at Tube stations, which would see staff from behind ticket offices move out onto station platforms and gate lines to provide a more visible presence for passengers. There are now more than 1500 Help points across the Tube network and our most recent market research shows people feel safer while travelling on the Tube.

In addition, crime on London Overground has remained low overall with significant reductions in robberies and drug-related offences. Some interesting figures released by the British Transport Police (BTP) show that for 2009/10:

Crime on the LU/DLR network was down by 4%
There are now just 13 crimes for every million passenger journeys
Violent crime has been cut by 7.5%
Sexual offences have been reduced by 3%
Criminal damage has gone down by 17.2%
Theft of passenger property or pick-pocketing has seen an increase of 10.8%
Theft of railway property, including cable theft, has seen an increase of 6.8%
Public disorder offences have gone down 22.7%
Fraud offences, including tampering with cash and ticket machines on LU property, have gone down by 10.4%
Drug-related offences have gone down by 21.7%
Robbery saw an increase of 0.7%
LU carried more than a billion passengers in 2009/10

Figures released by the BTP for London Overground also show that for 2009/10, Crimes on the London Overground network was down from 523 to 517:

Violent crime increased from 111 to 113
Sexual offences have been reduced by 38.5%
Criminal damage increased from 49 to 58
Theft of passenger property or pick-pocketing has seen an increase of from 73 to 85
Theft of railway property, including cable theft, was reduced by 27.8%
Public disorder offences went up from 87 to 91
Fraud offences, have gone down by 60%
Drug-related offences have gone down by 25%
Robbery saw a decrease of 26.7%