Financial companies combat e-mail fraud

Just more than a year ago, phishing schemes caught most financial institutions by surprise, and quickly developed into wide-scale attacks. But the industry reacted swiftly and effectively to the increasing number of fraudulent e-mails being sent out in their names, according to two new research reports from The Tower Group. Phishing happens when fraudsters try to trick people into giving them personal financial data, such as credit card numbers, bank account information, passwords or Social Security numbers. Perpetrators use e-mail and fraudulent Web sites to fool victims into thinking their bank or another legitimate business is asking them to update account information. Financial institutions are frequently the targets of such phishing scams. Most of the larger banks now have a person or team dedicated to coordinating anti-phishing activities such as preventing, detecting, halting and recovering from phishing attacks using a variety of technology tools and best practices, according...