In an effort to clamp down on the growing threat from phishing fraud, MasterCard is to use Web crawling technology from NameProtect to sniff out and report illegal online trading rings and spoof sites.
MasterCard says it will use NameProtect's technology to detect online scams in real-time as they proliferate across the Internet.
Sergio Piñòn, senior vice president, MasterCard global security & risk services, says: "By identifying these illegal card number-swapping rings and working to close down these online 'payment 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."
As part of the arrangement, Wisconsin-based NameProtect will apply its Internet detection technology and systems to continuously monitor domain names, Web pages, online discussions, spam e-mail, and other online formats to identify online trading rings and spoof phishing sites. MasterCard says it will report bogus Web sites and other illegal online forums to the proper authorities, such as the United States Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Postal Service, and Interpol, as well as notify banking members through its MC Alerts service.
NameProtect has also been contracted to protect MasterCard's own identity from being stolen by seeking out fraudsters attempting to spoof MasterCard's logo and other branding insignia to use for phishing attacks.