When we read about the proliferation of mobile technology, often the focus is on risks. For example, lost and stolen devices can facilitate identity thieves, and communications can be subject to interception. But mobile devices can also empower users to defend against malicious and fraudulent activity. Because mobile tech is often instantly accessible it is always at the ready to react in the moment, shedding sunlight on activities that in the past may have been hidden behind closed doors.
When a credit card is handed to a clerk, there is the possibility that the card will be "skimmed" — a secret impression can be made either physically or electronically, which can later be used to initiate fraudulent activity. The problem is especially prevalent in restaurants, .Some restaurants are deploying mobile POS systems. The server can use a handheld reader to swipe the customer card and generate a printed receipt at tableside, so the card never leaves the user's sight.
Another form of mobile POS is to use a customer's cell phone as a direct payment method. When payment is initiated either via an app or merely presenting the phone to a mobile phone POS system, there is no middleman involved (like a clerk), eliminating the most significant source of risk in a sale transaction.
Mobile phones are effective ways of issuing instant alerts. For example, when someone signs up for a service — say, registering at their bank's Website — a user's identity can be confirmed by issuing a confirmation call or text. The user then needs to provide, say, a PIN code provided in the alert to complete the registration. In this way, incorporating the mobile device into the verification process prevents someone from falsely registering for a service under someone else's identity
Text message alerts can also be issued by banks and credit card vendors to provide real-time reports to card owners.
For example, if a text message alert is sent every time a charge is made (or made above a certain amount), a fraudulent charge can be detected almost instantly by the card owner.
Consider a case where a cell phone camera is used to take stills or video of a crime in progress: Those pictures can be instantly posted to social networking sites, quickly drawing attention to threatening events. Even without the real-time component, mobile phones record a visual record of a time and place. Take the case of insurance fraud.
Despite the risks inherent in using mobile technology, using these devices to eliminate middlemen and document events will, at the very least, reduce simple fraud and force fraudsters to devise more sophisticated riskier methods of fooling the system.
When a credit card is handed to a clerk, there is the possibility that the card will be "skimmed" — a secret impression can be made either physically or electronically, which can later be used to initiate fraudulent activity. The problem is especially prevalent in restaurants, .Some restaurants are deploying mobile POS systems. The server can use a handheld reader to swipe the customer card and generate a printed receipt at tableside, so the card never leaves the user's sight.
Another form of mobile POS is to use a customer's cell phone as a direct payment method. When payment is initiated either via an app or merely presenting the phone to a mobile phone POS system, there is no middleman involved (like a clerk), eliminating the most significant source of risk in a sale transaction.
Mobile phones are effective ways of issuing instant alerts. For example, when someone signs up for a service — say, registering at their bank's Website — a user's identity can be confirmed by issuing a confirmation call or text. The user then needs to provide, say, a PIN code provided in the alert to complete the registration. In this way, incorporating the mobile device into the verification process prevents someone from falsely registering for a service under someone else's identity
Text message alerts can also be issued by banks and credit card vendors to provide real-time reports to card owners.
For example, if a text message alert is sent every time a charge is made (or made above a certain amount), a fraudulent charge can be detected almost instantly by the card owner.
Consider a case where a cell phone camera is used to take stills or video of a crime in progress: Those pictures can be instantly posted to social networking sites, quickly drawing attention to threatening events. Even without the real-time component, mobile phones record a visual record of a time and place. Take the case of insurance fraud.
Despite the risks inherent in using mobile technology, using these devices to eliminate middlemen and document events will, at the very least, reduce simple fraud and force fraudsters to devise more sophisticated riskier methods of fooling the system.
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