Wait…I Never Opened an Online Shopping Account at Walmart

Wait…I Never Opened an Online Shopping Account at Walmart

On Thursday morning, I received an e-mail from Walmart.com stating, ‘Congrats on creating your Walmart account.’ It looked legitimate, spot-on actually. I even hovered over the links to see the e-mail addresses to which they are linked — all legitimate, but I didn’t dare click, airing on the side of caution. The ‘Congrats’ message was sent…

Who’s Getting the Brunt of Online Fraud Attacks?

Who’s Getting the Brunt of Online Fraud Attacks?

It is no secret that online fraud attacks are sharply on the rise, nearly 140 percent over the last year. It’s the unfortunate byproduct of EMV credit cards foremost, but consumers can also blame vulnerabilities in mobile commerce and aggressive hackers anxious to pounce on the penetrable card-not-present channel. According to a recent whitepaper from…

We Think This Was a Fraudulent Website and Here’s Why

We Think This Was a Fraudulent Website and Here’s Why

We could be wrong, but once in a while we’ll get a merchant account application from an e-commerce merchant, whose website raises red flags. We’re forced to play judge and jury on whether we go forward in the merchant boarding process or decide it is a fraudulent website. Within the last six months, one particular…

Our Experience With Suspected Transaction Laundering

Our Experience With Suspected Transaction Laundering

I recently had an article published in the payments news periodical, The Green Sheet, entitled ‘Telltale Signs of Transaction Laundering.’ The idea for the story came to me when one of our merchant account managers was vetting the website of an applicant, didn’t like what she saw and subsequently refused the merchant’s request. Because I…

Small Business Hacking Getting More Common

Small Business Hacking Getting More Common

This blogpost was originally posted on Instabill’s satellite website, Instabill.info, on June 12, 2015 with the help of Ed Black, a former PCI Director at Comodo, now a Territory Manager at Heartland Payment Systems. Ed Black says the worst thing a small business owner can believe is that his/her company is safe from hackers, simply…