News on regulation, fraud, and card scheme rules

In a follow-up to our earlier blog ten tell-tale signs of a con, we get behind the psychology of scams to help you falling victim to one.

Druing their presentation at RiskConnect 2019, Bastian Obermayer and Frederik Obermaier, the two journalists behind the Panama Papers leak, explained how they mined huge amounts of data from the world of offshore finance.

Fakes are real, big business and counterfeit goods are ubiquitous both on- and offline. The merchants who sell them pose increased risk for the acquirers and payment service providers (PSPs) who provide them with card acceptance.

The noun ‘con’ is short for ‘confidence trick’, a swindle involving money in which the victim’s trust is won by the swindler. Con artists use various well-honed tactics to defraud their victims. As an Underwriter, you should know how to spot them.

In June 2019, Visa announced the worldwide harmonisation of requirements for free trial merchants. We examine these requirements and highlight the similarities and differences with the Mastercard requirements that came into effect on 12 April 2019.‍

Transaction laundering has always been a multifaceted problem. One of its most insidious forms is the competitor takedown attack, where fraudsters weaponise card scheme test transactions to discredit legitimate merchants.

Addresses can be used to evade sanctions, perpetrate crime and launder money. Here's how.

There are many similarities between journalists and merchant underwriters. Particularly in their pursuit of what Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Carl Bernstein refers to as “the best obtainable version of the truth”.

Risk and opportunity are intertwined — one cannot exist without the other. This is certainly true of the cryptocurrency space, but there are ways to harness the opportunities and minimise the risks.