Message from the Executive Director
The end of another busy year is almost upon us. On behalf of the EAST Board I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the continued success of EAST this year. Being able to meet again in-person has been fantastic and, while all our meetings are still not yet back to normal, the hybrid meetings that we held all went well, as did the virtual meetings.
- Three meetings for Global and National Members were held – the final Interim Meeting on 9th February, and hybrid Global Congress meetings on 16th June and 5th October.
- The EAST Expert Group on All Terminal Fraud (EGAF) also held three meetings on 19th January, 11th May (hybrid meeting), and 14th September (hybrid meeting).
- The EAST Expert Group on ATM and ATS Physical Attacks (EGAP) held two meetings on 2nd March and 31st August.
- The EAST Expert Group on Payment and Transaction Fraud (EPTF) held three meetings on 13th April, 29th June, and 9th November.
- Two European Payment Terminal Crime Reports were released on 12th April (Full Year 2021) and 12th October (Half Year 2022).
- Three Fraud Updates were released on 8th March, 4th July, and 8th November.
- Nineteen Alerts were issued throughout the year (Fraud Alerts x 13, Physical Attack Alerts x 5, Payment Alerts x 1)
EAST supported Europol by attending two Joint Advisory Group Meetings on 25 May and 18 October, and by presenting at an EMPACT action dedicated to Terminal and Host Frauds on 14 December. Rui Carvalho represented EAST. Supported by EAST EGAF, Europol published updated guidelines to help industry and law enforcement counter the ATM Logical Attack threat.
EAST supported CEPOL by presenting at a course focussed on combating Card Fraud on 12 November. I represented EAST.
During the year we said goodbye to two long-standing friends and colleagues, Phoebus Christodoulides and Delia Vaquerizo.
Ukraine is represented at EAST by the Ukrainian Interbank Payment Systems Member Association (EMA) and it was a real pleasure to see their representative Olesya Danylchenko in-person at our 1st Global Congress in June. Despite the pressures of the war, she has done a fantastic job in sharing information during these very difficult times. I know I speak for all of us in wishing her, her colleagues, and all their families, a safe, warm, connected, and very happy Christmas.
And lastly every best wish to all readers for a wonderful festive break and a very happy New Year!
Kind regards
Lachlan
