Tips & Tricks

Monthly Roundup - Invoice Security

Invoice fraud and data breaches are on the rise.

Companies are losing real money due to cybersecurity. Here are some stories where fraud is happening and tips on how to prevent your business from becoming a victim.

Invoice Fraud Explained

Today, most invoices come into a business via email PDF or fax with a high-volume of invoices processing through the accounting department at any given time.

Criminals are taking advantage of this analog industry by sending in fake invoices with an e-mail address that “appears” to be coming from a business partner with a wire addresses that exist at a legitimate bank. They are posing as vendors or partners in order to convince businesses to wire large amounts of money to a certain location. Often times, this location is an offshore account, where criminals can then siphon money for services that they never actually provided.

The entire business e-mail scamming industry has more than doubled recently, growing 136% percent between December 2016 and May 2018. While the method isn’t always successful, criminals targeted $12 billion worldwide from October 2013 to May 2018.

Google and Facebook tricked out of over $100 million

There are few technology companies as well-known and influential as Google and Facebook, but that didn’t stop the two tech giants from being tricked out of $123 million thanks to invoice fraud. Invoice fraud was also a factor in the downfall of Diesel Jeans, an Italian retail clothing company.

Capital One Was Hacked

Hackers have been able to penetrate some of the most established companies in the world, and Capital One, the Richmond-based bank, was the latest victim. The personal information of 106 million individuals was compromised as a result, as a hacker was able to obtain personal information for consumers, applicants, and small businesses, spanning from 2005 to 2016. The hack also affected Canadian consumers and businesses, as well.

Capital One is also important to the U.S. economy for one particular reason - the company is the second-largest auto financier in the country. It is also the fifth-largest card-issuer in the United States, as well. The bank released a statement about the incident on July 29th, 2019, ten days after the unauthorized access took place. The bank also notified federal law enforcement.

Bank account numbers and social security numbers were compromised. While there are situations in where these hackers never get caught, a Seattle engineer was actually charged by the Department of Justice. Paige Thompson faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Capital One is already exploring how blockchain can help with a “collaborative” authentication tool to help with data security. Capital One certainly would have benefited from blockchain in this particular case, as it may have prevented this particular hacker from gaining access.

NYFD Warns About Potential Breach

There are all sorts of cyber attacks and data breaches that occur every day, but there are also instances in which carelessness can affect the personal information of thousands of individuals. An employee of the New York Fire Department (NYFD) apparently lost a “personal external” hard drive that contained information about various patients. This included the information of over 10,000 individuals treated and transported by the NYFD.

The NYFD stated that they were treating the incident as if someone had seen the information, although there’s currently no evidence that the data has been accessed. Patients were notified about the potential data breach through the mail this week.

One of the benefits of blockchain is that it allows for the encryption of medical records, which could help prevent incidents such as this. In fact, there are already plenty of healthcare companies utilizing blockchain in order to improve operations.

Keep your business safe

The blockchain provides the next level in security by leveraging a decentralized and encrypted platform for data and invoice transmission. Crowdz can greatly improve invoice security with the world’s first blockchain-based B2B Invoice Exchange. Learn more at Crowdz.io.

 

 

By Stacey Kirsch

August 13, 2019

Share this article

Tips & Tricks

Monthly Roundup - Invoice Security

Invoice fraud and data breaches are on the rise.

Companies are losing real money due to cybersecurity. Here are some stories where fraud is happening and tips on how to prevent your business from becoming a victim.

Invoice Fraud Explained

Today, most invoices come into a business via email PDF or fax with a high-volume of invoices processing through the accounting department at any given time.

Criminals are taking advantage of this analog industry by sending in fake invoices with an e-mail address that “appears” to be coming from a business partner with a wire addresses that exist at a legitimate bank. They are posing as vendors or partners in order to convince businesses to wire large amounts of money to a certain location. Often times, this location is an offshore account, where criminals can then siphon money for services that they never actually provided.

The entire business e-mail scamming industry has more than doubled recently, growing 136% percent between December 2016 and May 2018. While the method isn’t always successful, criminals targeted $12 billion worldwide from October 2013 to May 2018.

Google and Facebook tricked out of over $100 million

There are few technology companies as well-known and influential as Google and Facebook, but that didn’t stop the two tech giants from being tricked out of $123 million thanks to invoice fraud. Invoice fraud was also a factor in the downfall of Diesel Jeans, an Italian retail clothing company.

Capital One Was Hacked

Hackers have been able to penetrate some of the most established companies in the world, and Capital One, the Richmond-based bank, was the latest victim. The personal information of 106 million individuals was compromised as a result, as a hacker was able to obtain personal information for consumers, applicants, and small businesses, spanning from 2005 to 2016. The hack also affected Canadian consumers and businesses, as well.

Capital One is also important to the U.S. economy for one particular reason - the company is the second-largest auto financier in the country. It is also the fifth-largest card-issuer in the United States, as well. The bank released a statement about the incident on July 29th, 2019, ten days after the unauthorized access took place. The bank also notified federal law enforcement.

Bank account numbers and social security numbers were compromised. While there are situations in where these hackers never get caught, a Seattle engineer was actually charged by the Department of Justice. Paige Thompson faces up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Capital One is already exploring how blockchain can help with a “collaborative” authentication tool to help with data security. Capital One certainly would have benefited from blockchain in this particular case, as it may have prevented this particular hacker from gaining access.

NYFD Warns About Potential Breach

There are all sorts of cyber attacks and data breaches that occur every day, but there are also instances in which carelessness can affect the personal information of thousands of individuals. An employee of the New York Fire Department (NYFD) apparently lost a “personal external” hard drive that contained information about various patients. This included the information of over 10,000 individuals treated and transported by the NYFD.

The NYFD stated that they were treating the incident as if someone had seen the information, although there’s currently no evidence that the data has been accessed. Patients were notified about the potential data breach through the mail this week.

One of the benefits of blockchain is that it allows for the encryption of medical records, which could help prevent incidents such as this. In fact, there are already plenty of healthcare companies utilizing blockchain in order to improve operations.

Keep your business safe

The blockchain provides the next level in security by leveraging a decentralized and encrypted platform for data and invoice transmission. Crowdz can greatly improve invoice security with the world’s first blockchain-based B2B Invoice Exchange. Learn more at Crowdz.io.

 

 

By Stacey Kirsch

August 13, 2019

Share this article