Tag: payments

Whack-a-Fraud: EU’s Crackdown Could Increase U.S. Payments Scams

U.S. providers should be “on alert” for an increase in payments fraud experts warn. The European Union’s (EU’s) new Payment Services Directive (PSD2) raises the bar for security and may cause cybercriminals to focus on targets in this country.

Liberty Reserve Taken Offline

Illiquid: Liberty Reserve Gone, Cybercrooks Look For Alternatives

Now that authorities in Spain, Costa Rica and the U.S. have taken down online money transfer service Liberty Reserve, the cyber underground is facing a serious liquidity crunch, as criminal gangs, botmasters, spammers and malicious hackers look for a safe platform on which to transact business. But finding a ready substitute may not be easy, with Liberty Reserve’s close competitors showing less tolerance of its “no questions asked” account creation policy, and less scrupulous outlets wary of the long arm of the U.S. Justice Department. Liberty Reserve (libertyreserve.com) went offline on Friday along with dozens of other domains operated by its founder, Arthur Budovsky – a.k.a. “Arthur Belanchuk” a.k.a “Eric Paltz.” Budovsky was arrested in Spain on May 24th. Spanish authorities acted at the request of authorities in Costa Rica, where Budovsky had set up shop, and the U.S. A three-count criminal complaint filed there by the U.S. Attorney for the […]