Richard's Kingdom

Credit-card companies claim their 3D-Secure system – branded as Verified by Visa and Mastercard SecureCode – provides an extra layer of security against online fraud. Back in November I suggested that, rather than protecting consumers, the extra security appears to benefit banks and merchants by pushing fraud liability onto card-holders. Now Ross Anderson and Steven [...]

Back in April I wrote about problems with the credit-industry password scheme Verified by Visa. At the time I compared it to so-called phishing scams – fraud committed by tricking unwary email users into handing over their passwords, bank account details or credit-card numbers, then ordering goods or transfering cash from their accounts. It turns [...]

The UK National Identity Card can be cloned and altered by IT security experts. Colour me unsurprised. The consultants who carried out this work are from the same community of experts who have been warning [pdf] that the cards would be cracked since the Home Office first disclosed the mechanics of the scheme. The alterations [...]

As far as phishing schemes go they don’t come better than Verified by Visa. Fortunately it isn’t actually a scam. However it so closely resembles the perfect online con that this detail makes little practical difference. What’s more it’s turning customers away from merchants who employ the system. If you use a credit card online [...]