Europol organises second edition of training on payment card fraud forensics

From 11 to 15 July 2016, Europol organised the second edition of the Europol Training Course on Payment Card Fraud Forensics and Investigations at the Spanish National Police Academy in Ávila, Spain. The training focused on the forensic examination of skimming devices, payment card and ATM malware forensics, as well as investigative techniques to target criminal networks responsible for international payment fraud incidents. 

There were a total of 59 participants from law enforcement, the private sector and academia, representing 29 countries including the European Union, Australia, Colombia, Norway and Turkey.  The majority of participants were experts in forensically-examining skimming equipment and electronics, and investigators in payment fraud. During the course, they took part in specific sessions that included card-not-present and card-present fraud modus operandi, trends and threats for investigators, as well as tools for payment card analysis. The course also provided common sessions, workshops and networking events with the private sector, including S21sec, Verifone, Trend Micro, Santander Group and Visa.

The course was supported by a number of companies, such as S21sec, who led workshops related to ATM malware. The banking sector, merchants, including airlines and fuel card companies, the European ATM Security Team, ATM manufacturers and POS companies were all present and shared their expertise and potential to support law enforcement work. Participants also visited the ‘Financial City Santander’, where they had the opportunity to attend workshops and panels on improving preparation for new ATM malware threats among law enforcement.

The course ended on Friday 15 July, with speeches from Superintendent Montes Fresneda representing the Ávila Police Academy, Superintendent Vicente Riquelme from the Spanish Policia Nacional, and Marcin Skowronek from Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre.

Superintendent Montes Fresneda, Head of the Institutional Relations Department of the Spanish National Police School, highlighted Europol’s trust in the Spanish National Police to again host this training course.

Superintendent Vicente Riquelme, Head of the Cyber Security Central Brigade, remarked on the importance of these events to strengthen professional ties that will help with future investigations.

Marcin Skowronek said: “The growing number of participants on this course is an indication of its success, together with the interest expressed by non-law enforcement parties to take part in the training and network with our specialists. As a response to increasing cyber threats, Europol initiated an international and cross-sectorial approach in order to even better protect European citizens against payment fraud. I congratulate this year’s students and trainers on a job very well done and look forward to next year’s edition.”