A.M.BestTV: Whale Phishing: Insurers Challenged by Digital Con Game

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May 29, 2015 2:20 PM EDT

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In this episode of A.M.BestTV, Christopher Giovino, director, forensic services, AON Global Risk Consulting, states insurers are rewriting crime policies in response to “whale phishing,” in which criminals fraudulently lure organizations into transferring money or surrendering important information. Click on http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=phish515 to view the video program.

Giovino addresses what exactly ‘whale phishing’ is. “It is a form of computer based fraud that involves executives, people in finance and the transferring of cash, typically by wire from the United States or off-shore to another off-shore account and then to another off-shore account,” he said. “It is also called social engineering, and between 2013 and 2014, it cost companies over $214 million in losses.”

Giovino continues as to how this fraud is executed. “The financial person (responsible for wire transfers) receives an e-mail from someone representing himself as an executive in another company, requesting that a specific person wire transfer money to a legitimate bank, and since the e-mail has some familiarity in it to the receiver, he or she wires the funds believing the request to be legitimate. Once the funds reach the legitimate bank, within a day they are sent to an unknown account in a foreign country and disappear.”

Giovino acknowledges that the industry is unsure how these scammers are getting their information; however, the industry is responding by rewriting crime policies and offering riders.

Recent episodes of A.M.BestTV include:

  • A.M. Best Panel Updates Capital Model Developments: A recent webinar where two senior members of A.M. Best’s Rating Division provided updates on changes to the agency’s capital model, known as Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR): http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=capmodel515.
  • U.S. Wholesale Insurance Producers Flex Their Clout: Representatives from Lloyd’s and elsewhere said the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) members are major producers of business to the London-based insurance market. AAMGA leaders said they are bringing together insurance wholesalers in the United States and Canada: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=aamga515.
  • NAIC CEO Ben Nelson: Don’t Just Add Capital, Look at the Risk: Ben Nelson, chief executive officer at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and a former U.S. senator, states that U.S. regulators must convince international regulators that protecting policyholders takes a combination of capital and risk-based standards: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=ebnelson515.
  • Insurers Turn to Technology to Strengthen Customer Relations: A webinar where a panel of technology professionals examined how insurers are leveraging new technology and capabilities to build cutting-edge customer relationship systems: http://www.ambest.com/v.asp?v=customerengage515.

A.M.BestTV covers exclusive A.M. Best information and reports, targeted topics and key developments in the (re)insurance industry every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sign up for alerts of episodes at http://www.ambest.com/multimedia/ambtvsignup.html. View A.M.BestTV episodes at http://www.ambest.tv.

A.M. Best Company is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2015 by A.M. Best Company, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

A.M. Best Company
Lee McDonald
Group Vice President, Publication and News Services
(908) 439-2200, ext. 5561
[email protected]

Source: A.M. Best Company


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