Cybercriminals May Have Stolen Billions in Brazilian 'Boletos'

  • 2 July 2014
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By Brian Prince on July 02, 2014 RSA Research has identified a malware-based fraud ring targeting Brazil's popular Boleto payment method that may have pilfered billions of dollars from unsuspecting victims. 
Researchers with RSA, the security division of EMC, said they have discovered a Boleto malware (Bolware) ring that compromised as many as 495,753 Boleto transactions during a two-year period. A Boleto is essentially a document that allows a customer to pay an exact amount to a merchant. Anyone who owns a bank account - whether a company or an individual - can issue a Boleto associated with their bank.
Though it is not clear whether the thieves successfully collected on all of the compromised transactions, the value of those transactions is estimated to be as much as $3.75 billion USD. SecurityWeek/ Full Read Here/ http://www.securityweek.com/cybercriminals-may-have-stolen-billions-brazilian-boletos

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The following article is a update on Stolen Brazilian Boletos
 
(Estimated $3.75bn stolen by Brazil fraud ring)
 
Author/ Zelka Zorz HNS Managing Editor
 
An estimated $3.75 billion have been netted by a single fraud ring that took advantage of a popular Brazilian payment method - the Boleto - by wielding a frequently upgraded piece of malware that silently intercepted and rerouted payments to the crooks' bank accounts.

"Boleto Bancário, or simply Boleto, is a financial instrument that enables a customer to pay an exact amount to a merchant. Any merchant with a bank account can issue a Boleto associated with their bank; that Boleto is then sent to the consumer to pay anything from their mortgage, energy bills, taxes or doctor’s bills via electronic transfer," RSA researchers explained.
 


 
Boletos can be generated both offline (printed copies) and mailed to customers, or online (by online stores for example) for electronic payments. Their popularity has risen because of the convenience for consumers who don’t require a personal bank account to make payments using Boletos."
 
Help Net Security/ Full Read Here/ http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=2801

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