p001front.qxd (Page 1) - Isle of Man Today

14
Businessupdate
Isle of Man Examiner, March 2006
MONEY
Have
fraudsters
had their
Chips
AWorld Apart...
ABOUT BOSTON
Boston Limited is an independent, privately owned company, which provides a range of bespoke services and business solutions
to high net worth individuals and their families. Boston was founded in 2002 as the family office for a wealthy family who
wished to coordinate and enhance the management of their affairs. While Boston continues to look after the founders’ interests;
it also offers its services to other individuals who may be able to benefit from Boston's unique skills and experience.
A DISTINCTIVE APPROACH
In a world where high net worth individuals have many choices when it comes to arranging their financial affairs, Boston offers
several distinct advantages:
• Our origins and heritage as a successful family office gives us a profound understanding of the needs of high net worth
individuals.
• As an independent private company, we are not constrained or compromised by the pressure to offer any particular product
or service. This enables us to seek impartial advice across a wide range of financial services. The best interests of the client
are our principal consideration at all times, and in all circumstances.
• Our service is delivered by a team of talented professionals, each with a sharp focus on the needs of our clients.
Every individual client’s affairs are personally overseen by a senior member of our team, who acts as a prime point
of contact and takes full responsibility for ensuring that the client receives a swift, efficient, and personalised service.
• Boston’s service is custom made. We don't offer standard answers, or rigid formulas – instead, we make every effort
to understand each client’s particular objectives and to tailor our service to help them achieve those objectives.
We believe that Boston’s approach to working with clients and their advisors is distinctive and highly effective, and – importantly
– we understand the value of working closely with clients and their advisors at an early stage, actively seeking to do so. We value
the skills of other specialists, and recognise that many clients have existing relationships with advisors. We openly embrace the
opportunity to work as part of a wider team, bringing our own skills and expertise to the table in an open and cohesive manner.
Due to the expansion of our operations,
we wish to make the following key
appointments, and are looking for motivated
individuals, to join our highly regarded team.
COMPLIANCE OFFICER (Ref: CO0306)
Reporting to the Board of Directors.
SENIOR COMPANY & TRUST
ADMINISTRATORS (Ref: SCTA0306)
Working either solely with one major client or dealing
with the affairs of a small group of select clients.
COMPANY & TRUST
ADMINISTRATORS (Ref: CTA0306)
Handling the affairs of a small group of select clients.
SENIOR COMPANY & TRUST
ACCOUNTANT (Ref: SCTA0306)
SENIOR BOOK-KEEPER (Ref:SBK0306)
Liaising directly with clients.
FUND ACCOUNTANT (Ref: FACC0306)
FUND ADMINISTRATOR (Ref:FADM0306)
OUR PEOPLE
• Consistently deliver exceptional levels of service
• Achieve a high degree of accuracy in all areas of work
• Have first-class organisational abilities
• Possess excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Have a desire to excel personally & within the
business
• Are team players committed to helping others achieve
their objectives.
The positions are full-time, but candidates looking
for part-time hours will be considered.
The successful candidates will receive a competitive
salary and excellent remuneration package
commensurate with their experience and
qualifications.
Please reply with Curriculum Vitae and salary
expectations – quoting appropriate reference
number to:
The Managing Director
Boston Limited,
Belgravia House,
34-44 Circular Road,
Douglas,
Isle of Man IM1 1AE.
BOSTON
FAMILY OFFICE
CORPORATE
SERVICE PROVIDER
Boston Limited is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial
Supervision Commission as a Corporate Service Provider
For 42 million adults in
Britain with more than
130 million credit and
debt cards in their
wallets and handbags,
it is tempting to believe
that Chip and PIN will
eradicate fraudsters.
Jeremy Gates reports.
Today retailers can refuse to
serve card-carrying customers
who are unable to recall their
PIN (personal identification
number).
Indeed, if they allow a
transaction to go ahead without
it which subsequently proves
fraudulent, retailers will have to
foot the bill.
With one card fraud occurring
every eight seconds on UKissued
cards under the old
system, major banks picking up
most of the losses had to make
life tougher for fraudsters.
According to research from
Alliance & Leicester Current
Accounts, consumers are
warming to Chip and PIN: 86
per cent of shoppers are
comfortable with it, four
shoppers in five reckon it’s a
good idea.
The Association for Payment
Clearing Services (Apacs), the
banking industry’s voice on
fraud and other issues, claims
card losses could have topped
£800 million in 2005 if nothing
had been done.
In the event, the national rollout
of Chip and PIN began in
October 2003 and credit and
debit card fraud figures from
Apacs in early March are likely
to show annual losses cut to
£400-450m.
So, a project costing banks and
retailers around £1.1bn to
introduce is already cutting the
fraudsters’ haul — with hopes in
official circles that Chip and PIN
will send the figure even lower
when it is fully up and running.
Some card transactions will
remain outside the Chip and
PIN regime. As many as 15 per
cent of British retailers have yet
to upgrade till payment systems.
Says Mark Bowerman at Apacs:
‘Currently more than 80 per cent
of retailers have adopted Chip
and PIN.
‘They don’t have to have it,
and their decision might be
based on how much fraud they
have suffered.
‘It might be that these shops
could find themselves
increasingly targeted by the
fraudsters.’
Some consumers will stay
outside the new system too,
including those yet to receive
upgraded cards — about 10 per
cent of the total number in
circulation — and disabled
people unable to work the new
system.
About 100,000 cards have been
issued to remain on the old Chip
and Signature system, although
Mr Bowerman says some
disabled people find the new
system easier to operate.
Visitors from countries yet to
adopt Chip and PIN —
including the US — will also
continue to sign for purchases.
For most of us falling within
the new system, however, the
new regime imposes obligations
which it might be expensive to
ignore. And it might well expose
us to new ‘scams’, while old
familiar ones are shut down.
The Banking Code warns that
cardholders acting ‘fraudulently
or negligently’ won’t be
refunded for any losses.
So if consumers write down
their number anywhere — even
disguised as a telephone
number in a contacts book —
they won’t be compensated for
losses.
Revealing a PIN to a partner,
son, daughter or friend is also
likely to be ruled negligent, in
the event of a claim.
What about keeping the same
number for all cards
‘Not recommended,’ says Mr
Bowerman. ‘But it is not as
serious as writing down your
number, and unlikely to be
deemed negligent.’
There is a danger that frauds
will increase in other sectors of
the card business, notably on
purchases by ‘cards not present’
— usually via the phone or
internet.
Customers might be tricked
into revealing important data,
like their date of birth, or the
three-digit security code on the
signature trip of their card, in
phone calls which are made to
sound official.
Says David Porter, head of
security and risk at Detica, an
information intelligence
specialist working with major
firms to beat fraud: ‘Fraud is like
a balloon. Squeeze it in one
place and it bulges in another.
‘People must realise they stand
to lose a lot if their PIN is
compromised, and they need to
remember that fraudsters often
strike effectively when people
are still getting used to a new
system.
‘On that basis, you might
expect some frauds in the next
few months — partly, for
instance, because people haven’t
yet got a clear idea of what
machines look like which take
their PIN.
‘In restaurants, always go with
the waiter to pay at the terminal,
rather than letting a card go out
of your sight.
‘The other night in the pub, I
heard somebody bellow his PIN
number across a crowded bar to
the landlord. And I have seen
retailers keeping a PIN machine
behind the counter, and asking
shoppers to speak their number
so they can punch it in. You
mustn't fall for that one.’
Mr Porter says it makes sense
to rotate PIN numbers by
changing them every couple of
months or so.
And consumers keying in a
PIN at the till should always take
great care to conceal it from
shoppers behind them.
Says Mr Porter: ‘If the
downward trend in card fraud is
to continue, the public must be
more savvy about taking
electronic fraud more seriously.’