Mastercard says it is helping banks to stop payment scams in their tracks, before funds leave a victim’s account. The payments provider said that in partnership with UK banks including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, NatWest, Monzo and TSB, it is using payments data to help identify payment scams. Mastercard’s new tool helps banks to get an instant rating that shows the risk of a payment being made to a fraudulent account. This is based on factors such as account activity and the relationship between the payer and payee. Ajay Bhalla, president of cyber and intelligence at Mastercard, said: “We are helping banks identify and predict which payments are being made to fraudsters and stop them in real-time.” Spotting fraudulent payments among millions made every day is like finding a needle in a haystack Paul Davis, TSB Over four months, TSB said that Mastercard’s tool has increased its fraud detection. Paul Davis, director of fraud prevention at TSB, said: “Spotting fraudulent payments among millions made every day is like finding a needle in a haystack, with scams becoming ever more complex – so prevention and monitoring tools are key. “Our partnership with Mastercard is providing the intelligence needed to identify fraudulent accounts and prevent payments ever reaching them.” The Financial Ombudsman Service recently said it is seeing a higher proportion of complex scam complaints, with some involving investments or cryptocurrency. It is seeing increasing numbers of complaints which contain the features of more than one scam. For example, someone may be duped by a romance scammer who then persuades them to invest in cryptocurrency schemes which do not exist. Or someone may attempt to pay for goods which do not exist and then receive a phone call from a scammer impersonating their bank who persuades them to make multiple payments by claiming their payment attempts have been unsuccessful. Many banks are currently signed up to a voluntary reimbursement code in cases where blameless scam victims transfer money to a fraudster, but there have been concerns about this not always being applied consistently. TSB has its own fraud refund guarantee. Plans are under way to make reimbursement mandatory. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has said new rules compelling banks to reimburse scam victims who have been tricked into paying fraudsters will come into force next year. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Art historian helps build new Assassin’s Creed game after son’s suggestion Twitter to stop TweetDeck access for unverified users Broadband customers plagued by issues despite inflation-busting price hikes

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A new initiative will aim to find missing people faster by issuing urgent appeals directly onto people’s phones via the Trainline app. The app will display images of people who have gone missing nearby and has the potential to reach millions of train travellers across the country, the charity Missing People has said. The project has been supported by relatives who are still searching for missing family members. The father of Andrew Gosden, who vanished more than 16 years ago, said anything that can help raise awareness of his son or any missing person is vital. Andrew, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was 14 when he disappeared on September 14 2007 and his case became one of the most high-profile missing person probes in the North. He emptied his bank account of about £200 and went to Doncaster station, where he bought a one-way ticket to London King’s Cross. His family and police believe he boarded a train at 9.35am, arriving at King’s Cross at 11.20am. CCTV images captured at the London station are the last known sighting of Andrew, with no further information about his movements corroborated by officers. In 2008 Andrew became the first person to feature in a new nationwide milk carton campaign aimed at tracing missing people. Two men were arrested in December 2021 by detectives investigating Andrew’s disappearance but they were eliminated from the police inquiry in September. Speaking about the Trainline project, Andrew’s father Kevin Gosden said: “If this had existed back in 2007, Andrew’s image could have been displayed to thousands of members of the public in the area where he went missing. “Anything that can help to raise awareness of Andrew, and the appeals for any missing person, is vital in keeping the search active and ensuring people are continuing to keep a look out for those who are missing”. Mr Godsen added: “It’s so important to have these appeals out there. You never know when someone might remember something, or may have seen a missing person. “It’s also important to know that there is help for anyone considering disappearing, including support that may help people take the step to return home, or think twice before leaving in the first place.” Paul Joseph, head of helplines at Missing People, said: “When someone vulnerable has disappeared, they can often use the transport network as a safe place. “Missing People is so proud to be working with Trainline to raise awareness of individual disappearances. “Together, we hope to raise awareness and potentially help find missing people. For the loved ones of those featured, knowing that action is being taken to find them, helps to keep hope alive.” A British Transport Police spokesperson added: “Rail passengers can play a vital role in alerting the authorities to people who are at risk. Your reports may help rescue someone from a dangerous situation or even save a life. “There are over 2,500 stations and 10,000 miles of track in Great Britain. These new alerts are so powerful because they can harness the eyes and ears of people who may be in the same train carriage as a missing person.” Read More Data protection watchdog offers tips on buying smart devices on Black Friday Meta to allow users to delete Threads accounts without losing Instagram AI among biggest threats to next UK election, cyber security agency warns AI can create Caucasian faces that look more real than actual humans – study AI among the biggest threats to the UK, cyber security agency warns Meta faces renewed criticism over end-to-end encryption amid child safety fears

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Twitter trolls who suggested a ship carrying the first wave of the Windrush generation should have “sunk” have been taken down following public criticism. On June 22, 1948, HMT Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury in Essex with around 500 workers aboard from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. They were among the first of the Windrush generation – people who had travelled to the UK between 1948 and 1971 from Caribbean countries as part of a scheme to help fill post-war labour shortages. On 75th anniversary of Windrush, Sunder Katwala, director of independent think tank British Future, told the PA news agency about a series of offensive tweets. One anonymous user with a profile image of a St George’s flag had suggested that the then-prime minister Clement Attlee “should have told the Royal Navy to sink it in the middle of the Atlantic”. The user had also argued that black and Jewish people could not be British. Initially, complaints about the account were rejected – despite MPs receiving assurances in the past that such comments probably violated Twitter rules. Mr Katwala was tagged in a further tweet by another user, which stated: “Should have sunk it just as we should be sinking the illegals coming to our shores.” He had reported that offensive post too, but on Thursday had yet to receive a response from moderators. PA had attempted to contact Twitter on Thursday for a comment. By Friday afternoon, both accounts appeared to have been removed or suspended from the micro-blogging site. Mr Katwala said: “It is good that the right decision has been made in this case after the indefensible decision to declare this incessant racism within the rules was challenged publicly. “My concern is that the Twitter moderation system is invariably getting the most clear cut cases wrong so users are not getting the protection they need most of the time.” Previously, the author and prominent social commentator had said that public figures including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, ministers and MPs “face daily racism because of the failures of social media platforms”. “So you can’t participate in public space on equal terms without experiencing racism, even though in every other sphere of life, if you’re on the train, on the bus, or in the playground, or in business, people can’t do that anymore, because we have social norms and we uphold them. “There’s no enforcement at all of the most basic social norms even when put in the most vitriolic terms,” he said. Allowing the views of a tiny minority to be amplified on social media skewed how the younger generation saw progress in the real world, leaving an impression society was “going backwards, no forwards”, he suggested. Mr Katwala had said social media does have the ability to “step up” to tackle online hate, as happened after the Christchurch terror attack in New Zealand and after Euro 2020 racist abuse. But he added on Thursday: “It is very clear to me that Twitter is now taking the most extreme content considerably less seriously than two years ago. “How far that is a policy decision under new ownership and how far a reduction in staff capacity is less clear. “The type of very extreme content they would take down when challenged is much more likely to stay up for much longer now. If the platform is not going to act, the case for external regulation gets stronger.” Mr Katwala has recently published a new book, How To Be A Patriot, which is a personal account of what it is to be British. He joined a celebration of the 75th anniversary at the National Windrush Monument in Waterloo, south London, and at a special service at Southwark Cathedral. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Meta rejects accusation of censorship of language around female body AI developing faster than laws aiming to regulate it, academic warns Facebook Marketplace is most complained-about online retail platforms

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