South Africa’s FNB has become the nation’s first bank to roll out mini ATMs that validate users via thumbprint, according to a report by Business Tech.

FNB TouchPoint ATMs offer cash withdrawals, transfers and payments, and statement review. They also allow users to purchase mobile airtime and electricity, and perform card cancellations,.

“The TouchPoint validates a customer’s identity by scanning a fingerprint placed on the biometric reader and it can detect false fingerprints to prevent fraud, FNB points of presence CEO Lee-Anne van Zyl said in the report. “The identity of the customer is then verified with the Department of Home Affairs to ensure the self-service account opening complies with the relevant laws.”

“The introduction of biometric validation on self-service devices is an important step to making banking much more accessible to South African communities. As the use of biometric technology becomes more pervasive in the everyday life of customers, it’s important to use this technology to accelerate access to banking services.”

FNB intends to install 50 of the ATMs in branches and merchant locations in townships and rural communities over the next six months, the report said.

– Finextra –

Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has confirmed that two magnetic tapes containing transaction information for 19.8 million accounts went missing two years ago after being mishandled by a subcontractor.

The data gaff stayed under wraps for two years until Buzzfeed published a report on Thursday. After that, Commonwealth began sending emails to customers, notifying them of the incident.

The bank says it launched an investigation on May 9, 2016, after it didn’t receive certification that the tapes were destroyed. Executives opted to not inform customers after the investigation suggested that the tapes had likely been destroyed, says Angus Sullivan, Commonwealth’s acting group executive for retail banking services.

Commonwealth Bank says it notified the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the country’s data protection regulator, on May 20, 2016. At the time, the OAIC indicated it would take not action.

So far, Commonwealth says there’s no evidence that the information has been misused. It is continuing to monitor the affected accounts for suspicious activity.

The tapes contained customer names, addresses, account numbers and transaction details, but not passwords or PINs “that could be used to enable account fraud,” according to a statement from the bank. The transaction data on the tapes range from 2000 through early 2016.

Commonwealth also hired KPMG to conduct an independent investigation. KPMG determined that “the most likely scenario was the tapes had been disposed,” the bank says.

– govinfosecurity.com –

The 2018 AFP Payments Fraud Survey, underwritten by J.P. Morgan, revealed that payments fraud reached a new high in 2017 after a downswing earlier in the decade. A record 78% of all organizations were hit by payments fraud last year, according to the survey of nearly 700 treasury and finance professionals.

Checks continue to be the subject of more fraud than any other payment method, with 74% of respondents reporting this form of attack. Wire fraud followed at 48 percent, while corporate card fraud ranked third at 30%.

Business email compromise (BEC) played a major role in payments fraud in 2017, with 77 percent of organizations experiencing BEC in 2017. Additionally, 54% of BEC scams targeted wires, followed by checks at 34%. The good news is that 77% of organizations have implemented controls to prevent BEC scams.

Other highlights of the 2018 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey include:

65% of payments fraud is committed by individuals outside the organization
67% of payments fraud is discovered by treasury staff
92% of organizations report that payments fraud attacks collectively cost 0.5% of the organization’s annual revenue
47% of organizations discovered fraud less than two weeks after the incident occurred.

– paymentscardsandmobile.com –

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of printing out small pieces of paper with the QR codes on them and then sticking them over 60 codes used by traders in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, late last week, Xiandai Kuaibao reported on Monday.

The alleged scam is said to have netted 3,000 yuan (US$480) from more than 100 transactions, which targeted traders selling expensive items such as seafood.

The three unemployed men – who were only identified by their surnames Zhao, Zhu and Zhang – reportedly told police they had been inspired by a friend who had made money this way.

People opening mobile payment accounts are now obliged to provide their full names and ID documents, but the three are accused of trying to hide their tracks by using an account opened by a friend before the regulations came into force.

Police tracked down the suspects using surveillance footage and found them in an internet cafe where they were playing computer games.

In the newspaper report local police warned shoppers to take care when scanning QR codes and always confirm that shop owners had received the payment.

– scmp.com –