BROOKINGS, S.D. - The Global ATM Security Alliance has moved to dissociate ATM fraud from identity theft in order to clear up public misconceptions which confuse the two kinds of fraud, the organization announced in an Aug. 5 news release.
Meanwhile, to counter the growing threat of phishing, Fair Isaac has published a white paper on identifying and controlling debit card phishing scams. The paper also has been made available to members of GASA and the ATM Industry Association.
GASA sees the essence of identity theft as the misappropriation of personal identification data or documents belonging to the victim, or the creation of false personal identification data or documents, with intent to commit fraud. The main reason for GASA's disassociation of identity theft from ATM fraud is that the information which can be stolen during ATM fraud, such as a PIN or card data, cannot be used to carry out and complete identity theft, for example by opening up new accounts in the victim's name.
The Anti-Phishing Working Group defines phishing as follows:
"Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers' personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social-engineering schemes use 'spoofed' e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit Web sites designed to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to respond. Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials directly, often using Trojan keylogger spyware. Pharming crimeware misdirects users to fraudulent sites or proxy servers, typically through DNS hijacking or poisoning."
Phishing occurs when fraudsters steal sensitive personal identification data by posing as credit card providers and banks in e-mails, often in conjunction with pop up windows and even false websites that look like bank Web sites.
"The focus of the industry today should be squarely on attacking the Internet-based sources of phishing and email-borne scams," commented Mike Lee, CEO of ATMIA and founder of GASA. "Fair Isaac's white paper is an excellent source of fraud prevention tips for the industry to do this."
