MasterCard in net security deal

PAYMENT network MasterCard International has teamed up with an internet security group to cut down on online credit card fraud.

NameProtect will trawl the internet for MasterCard to try to spot illegal and fraudulent activity before it affects consumers.

The technology will be used to crack down on so-called 'phishing', where fraudsters send emails to consumers claiming to be from their bank and asking them to log on to a website and enter personal banking details, which are then used fraudulently.

NameProtect will attempt to spot the replica websites, which often include a bank's logo, as soon as the fraudsters set them up and alert the police.

It will also look out for internet sites that are illegally trading stolen credit card numbers and stolen identities which enable criminals to impersonate people and borrow money in their name.

In addition, the group will try to protect MasterCard's own brand from being mis-used by looking out for unauthorised sites that use its logo.

Identity theft cost £29.7m in 2003, 17% more than the previous year, while fraud in which criminals took over people's accounts totalled £14.7m.

MasterCard said today's move represented a fundamental shift in the way the financial services industry dealt with fraud, by taking a more aggressive and pro-active approach, rather than simply reacting after fraud had occurred.

Sergio Pinon, senior vice president of MasterCard Global Security & Risk Services, said: 'By identifying illegal card number-swapping rings and working to close down online credit card black markets, as well as sites that are established solely to steal personal information, we can squash illegal activity before people's accounts are compromised.'

Mark McLane, chief executive of NameProtect, said: 'The financial services industry and their customers are the subject of growing and increasingly sophisticated attacks online. This partnership creates a platform to attack the source of internet-based fraud.