News

Internet Fraud Reporting System Launched

What do the FBI, Microsoft and the American Bankers Association all have in common? Answer: they're all collaborating against online fraud.

Those organizations, and more, have joined Internet Fraud Alert, a new program for alerting institutions to data breaches. The program was launched on Thursday using technology from Microsoft that enables companies and institutions to get reports when user accounts are compromised. Breached data might include user names, passwords and credit card numbers that hackers might use to perpetrate fraud.

No easy method to alert institutions existed before the release of Internet Fraud Alert, according to Microsoft's announcement.

Microsoft has contributed its Internet Fraud Alert solution to the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), which will manage the program. The NCFTA is a nonprofit organization consisting of the FBI, the Cyber Initiative and Resource Fusion Unit, four universities, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and various corporations, including Microsoft. The main activity of NCFTA participants is to share information about Internet security fraud threats.

"Partners come to the NCFTA prepared to share information in a manner that respects the privacy, data integrity and diversity of every contributor," according to the NCFTA Web site. "In return, the NCFTA provides an array of highly specialized products and services that help its partners reduce current and future fraud."

In addition, Accuity -- an NCFTA member and provider of global payment routing data -- has donated a solution to the NCFTA that helps to verify the institutions participating in the program.

The Internet Fraud Alert program is designed to facilitate secure communications about phishing scams or hacks for the "stakeholders" in the program, such as financial institutions, retailers and service providers. Possibly, the program may squelch embarrassing "bad PR" through its private alert system. For instance, last week, Goatse Security publicly reported that the e-mail addresses of thousands of AT&T iPad 3G users could be viewed on AT&T's Web site by using a program.

Other participating organizations in the Internet Fraud Alert program include the "Anti-Phishing Working Group, Citizens Bank, eBay Inc., Federal Trade Commission, National Consumers League and PayPal," according to Microsoft's announcement.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.