The crime of phishing entered midsummer doldrums, offering some relief to financial institutions, merchants, and other organizations engaged in e-commerce, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group. The number of unique e-mail attacks dropped 17%, to 23,917, in July, while the population of sites launching attacks dipped …

A leading retailer trade group on Thursday called for the payment card networks to stop forcing merchants to store credit card numbers, in effect challenging banks and the networks to take more responsibility for preventing data thefts. In a letter to the PCI Security Standards Council, an organization the networks …

Phishing fraudsters were exceptionally busy in June, with a near-record number of unique online attacks hitting consumers' PCs during the month, according to the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group, which tracks the fraud. The group recorded 28,888 unique phishing reports, up 23% from May and just shy of …

Signaling further progress among merchants toward compliance with a key data-protection mandate, Visa USA announced this week that 40% of the largest merchants accepting its cards now comply with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI). Further, some 96% of these merchants have certified they are not storing account data, …

Billeo Inc., whose software streamlines online bill payment for consumers, this week announced new product enhancements that the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company hopes will allow banks to earn more bill-payment revenue. It also extends the company's reach into online shopping with a new software component that automatically fills out online …

In the battle against the online fraud known as phishing, March brought a mix of good news and bad, with dramatic drops in malicious software offset by a steep rise in targeted brands, according to the latest report from an organization that tracks the fraud. Separately, the U.S. Commerce Department …

Amid highly publicized data breaches at major chains like TJX Cos. Inc. and Stop & Shop Supermarket Cos., large merchants are making progress in achieving compliance with the Payment Card Industry data-security standard (PCI), though nearly two-thirds of them have still not been certified as meeting the standard. Some 35% …

It has been a busy week for mobile banking and payments, with an announcement from Firethorn Holdings Inc. about new bank and carrier signings; from Metavante Corp. about a joint venture to launch a U.S. mobile-payments service; from ViVOtech about a new service to allow over-the-air provisioning of event tickets; …

The volume of unique phishing attacks hit an all-time high in January, while fraudsters broadened their reach to spoof Web sites they hadn't targeted before, such as social-networking and gambling sites, according to a group that tracks phishing fraud. The number of unique phishing e-mails hit 29,930, up 26% over …

As card data breaches continue to garner headlines, retailers may suffer the most in the eyes of U.S. consumers. Some 63% of consumers say merchants do the least to protect credit and debit card information, compared with 16% who say this about transaction processors and 5% who say Visa and …