When we think of the millions of dollars lost to phishing scams on a yearly basis, it’s amazing to reflect that phishing hasn’t been around for that long. Even though the first phishing scam hit around 1995, it wasn’t really a mainstream issue for around another 10 years. For the decade that followed, phishing scams have become very successful.
Phishing really hasn’t changed much over the years; however, in 2003 phishers started to register domain names that were similar to known brands like “eBay” and “PayPal”. They used email word programs to send out spoofed emails to PayPal customers. Those customers were sent to “spoofed sites” and were asked to update their credit card information and other personal identifying information.
By the end of 2003 and early 2004, phishers were riding a huge wave of success that included attacks on banking sites and their customers. Since then, the e-criminals (or phishers) have created many other sophisticated methods to steal money and credentials from unsuspecting customers.
It was during that time that FraudWatch International was founded. Our CEO, Trent Youl, was consulting to large organisations in this space and was able to identify the trend. Using his entrepreneurial skills, he started FraudWatch International in late 2003. Working with a small team, they rostered themselves around the clock and were able to remove phishing sites.
Over the last 12 years, FraudWatch International has grown with offices and staff now in 4 different locations. Our Headquarters’ are in Melbourne Australia, however, we also have physical presence in America, United Kingdom and The Middle East – whilst servicing customers in 27 countries around the globe.
Back in 2003, the small team worked around the clock building relationships with ISP’s, Web Hosts, Service Providers and CERT’s. Now our SOC runs 24/7/365 in ensuring our customers have world leading takedown times, both in Median and Average. The services portfolio has grown to include Anti-Phishing, Anti-Malware, Social Media Monitoring, Mobile App Monitoring and Brand Protection.
Organisations allocate a formidable amount of money and resource to secure their internal systems from unwanted external threats and yet, the weakest link, the consumer i.e. their end customer is left unprotected. FraudWatch International is unique in providing protection to your end customers against the threat of online fraud. The dollars and resources expended are minute compared to the broader internal security effort and yet the results are exceptional – the ROI speaks for itself.
Protect your customers from online fraud, and build strength in your brand. Let FraudWatch International protect your brand.
We would be happy to run through our presentation to help you reap the benefits of our customers across the globe.