Our Financial Services business provides a full range of trade execution and broker-dealer services. The benefit of BGC’s integrated platform is that it gives customers flexibility and choice in price discovery, execution and processing of their transactions, through voice, hybrid, or fully electronic brokerage options. In addition, our BGC Trader and BGC Market Data platforms offer financial technology solutions, market data and analytics related to financial instruments and markets.

BGC Partners Limited Tokyo specializes in delivering high-quality brokerage services for a broad range of financial products that are designed to meet the needs of our clients in a constantly evolving market environment. Our products include fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange, equities, equity-related products, credit derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Our focus on leveraging innovative technology solutions shapes our business strategy and through continued investment, BGC Partners Limited Tokyo are committed to bringing new, dynamic products to the global marketplace.

BGC Partners Limited Tokyo offers multiple means of execution, including a hybrid voice and electronic broking model for pre-trade, trade and post-trade services. Our bespoke solutions cater to the needs of our clients through fast to market, flexible systems. The scalability of our business is easily transferable across different regions and products. These capabilities are expertly supported by BGC Trader, our multi-asset, integrated voice and electronic price execution platform for the inter-bank and broker community.

BGC Market Data is one of the world’s leading specialist providers of real-time, tradeable, indicative, end-of-day, and historical OTC market data.

BGC supports the creation of a more transparent OTC swaps markets and provides market participants with a flexible, tailored approach to the electronic clearing and execution of derivatives trades.

Pensotti manufactures and distributes highly efficient oil-fired and gas-fired boilers that are clean-burning and safe.

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(Newswire.net -- October 27, 2016) Sandy, Utah -- FLEX CREDIT UNION TECHNOLOGY SELECTS ADVANCED FRAUD SOLUTIONS TO INTEGRATE INDUSTRY-LEADING CHECK FRAUD DETECTION SOLUTION WITHIN ITS TELLER CAPTURE PLATFORM.

Industry-leading solution providers for the financial services sector join forces to combat check deposit fraud 

FLEX announces a partnership to integrate its credit union core processing platform with Advanced Fraud Solutions’ (AFS) fraud detection tools. The partnership unites two industry leaders in the perennial fight against check fraud that continues to generate significant losses at credit unions across the nation.

A recent report produced by AFS found that while check volumes continue to decline, the exponential growth in online and mobile banking coupled with the adoption of EMV technology to combat plastic card fraud has helped breathe new life into fraud schemes involving paper checks.

FLEX customers will now be able to automatically screen checks presented at the teller line for fraud. In addition to detecting counterfeit checks, accounts with insufficient funds, and closed accounts, AFS’ solution helps financial institutions detect duplicate deposits previously made through remote deposit or mobile banking, which is a growing problem for the financial services industry as a whole.

“Check fraud continues to plague every financial institution, especially smaller institutions that may not understand the severity of the threat they face until they experience a loss,” says Lawrence Reaves, CEO of North Carolina-based AFS. “Our partnership with FLEX seamlessly embeds our award-winning fraud solution within the teller platform and provides credit union employees with the real-time information they need to make a fully-informed decision as to whether they should accept or reject a deposit. With less time spent processing routine deposits, tellers can refocus their efforts on improving the customer service experience,” adds Reaves.

To learn more about Advanced Fraud Solutions and their approach to fraud mitigation, click here. Visit FLEX Credit Union Technology to learn more about integrated credit union core system management.

In recent years, credit union industry personnel ranked FLEX Credit Union Technology first among competing vendors for customer satisfaction. FLEX now serves over 250 credit unions in locations across the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, and the Eastern Caribbean. The company enjoys established relationships with all regulatory agencies, corporate credit unions, and major industry partners.

Advanced Fraud Solutions has been a trusted leader in providing fraud mitigation tools to the financial institution market for nearly a decade. AFS products address a wide range of needs that the financial institution has, including check fraud, card fraud, and online banking fraud.  Over 500 financial institutions nationwide utilize a wide variety of AFS fraud prevention tools, yet still subscribe to the idea that sharing high-risk information is the best approach to fighting fraud.

Preston Packer

Director- Sales & Marketing

preston@flexcutech.com

800-262-3539

Ted Kirk

Director, Industry Partnerships                     

tkirk@advancedfraudsolutions.com                         

336-703-5348 x510

After reviewing your receipts and bank statements, shred them right away.

If you have a few cards, don't use the same pin code on every card.

This kind of information was easy to guess, so don't use your birth date or the first 4-5 numbers of your phone number as your password or pin code.

Never allow your computer to save your passwords.

When you are going to withdraw some money at a cash machine in public, be wary of your surroundings and cover up your pin number when typing.

Always make sure that you're alone when talking to them and see to it that no one is overhearing your conversation with them. As much as possible don't make phone calls to your bank in a public place.

If you're in a public place such as an internet cafe when doing online banking, be vigilant on your surroundings.

Your personal computer, as well as your mobile devices, needs anti-virus software to stay away from malicious threats. Don't also forget to keep your software updated.

There were a lot of phone scams today, so when someone calls you and claiming they were representatives from your trusted bank, don't be afraid to ask questions such as why they were calling and such. Or you could also look for the bank's number on their official website and call them on that number to confirm such calls.

Set a password on your phone and lock it every time you’re not using it, especially if you have a banking app on your mobile device. This way, no one could access your private information.

If possible, don't write it on a piece of paper, and don't save it on your personal computer and mobile devices.

If the email state that it is from your bank and asks for you to click on particular links, don't do it, but call your bank instead or make an inquiry through their official website.

If an email asks you to provide your personal and financial information, or else you'll be facing grieve consequences such as your account will be "frozen" and such, don’t be threatened and don't give away your private information.

Make sure that the website you're accessing is trustworthy, especially if you're making a transaction with it. If you find it suspicious, then don't provide any private information.

Culprits are more sophisticated these days. They could perfectly copy the logos of a legitimate bank and choose a web address that doesn’t have much difference to the original one, so you won't find it suspicious on the first look. But always remember that a bank will never ask for your banking details through emails.

Internet security is one of the major concerns nowadays so it would be better if you equipped yourself with sufficient knowledge about internet fraud or phishing scams and how to avoid them. Don't let yourself be a victim of credit card and debit card fraud, take necessary actions today!

"Data theft, for both companies and individuals, is one of the top security concerns for 2017," said Garit Boothe, a technology specialist at Frontier Communications. "There's a growing threat to personal information security, but a lot of consumers are left in the dark as to how to deal with the effects."

Yet, despite this growing threat, many people are unfamiliar with the details of credit card fraud and identity theft; let alone how to handle the aftermath of a breach.

In the face of rising risk, knowing what you're up against can help you better prepare for and manage a potential loss. The average person is likely to encounter either credit card theft and identity theft, or both, in his or her lifetime. Let's take a closer look at how those two types of information fraud differ, and what you can do to handle the effects of each.

Credit card theft is a type of identity theft that occurs when someone accesses your credit card account and uses it to make unauthorized purchases. Credit card theft has, unfortunately, become a common crime. According to a 2015 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, 8.6 million Americans ages 16 or older were victims of credit card fraud in 2014.

Though the terms "credit card theft" and "identity theft" are often used interchangeably, identity theft refers to a wider — and often much more serious — set of crimes. The Justice Department splits identity theft into three categories.

1. Fraud or misuse of an existing account is the category into which credit card theft falls. This crime occurs when someone obtains your credit card number or bank-account information, and uses that information to go on a spending spree. Passing bad checks on someone else's account also qualifies. This is by far the most common type of identity theft, accounting for 16.4 million of the 17.6 million total victims in 2014.

2. Fraud or misuse of a new account occurs when someone uses your personal information to open a new account. This new account could be relatively small, such as a checking account or a new credit card; it can also be much larger, such as a fraudulent mortgage to buy a house. Roughly 1.1 million victims reported this type of identity theft in 2014.

3. Fraud or misuse of personal information covers all other events involving improper use of your personal data, including the use of stolen information to get a job, receive medical care, rent an apartment or provide a false identity to law enforcement. This category accounted for 713,000 of the victims in 2014.

While dealing with credit card theft isn't anyone's idea of fun, the recovery process is pretty simple. A few solid federal laws protect consumers from bearing the responsibility of fraudulent charges. No matter how much was stolen, you can be held liable for a maximum of only $50 when you report fraud on a credit card account. If you report the fraud within 60 days of learning of it, even that cost may be waived.

Debit cards are a bit different. In order to limit your liability if your card was physically lost or stolen, you need to report the loss quickly. Your liability stands at $50 for the first two days after the discovery of fraud, and then jumps to $500 between the two-day and 60-day mark. Beyond that, you might be accountable for all charges. If your physical card wasn't taken, however, there's more leniency; as long as you report the fraudulent use within 60 days, you won't be liable for a cent.

In some cases, thieves aren't even able to use the card in the first place. Many card issuers automatically detect suspicious activity and put a block on the card to prevent any future charges. Some companies will even call cardholders to alert them to the attempted use.

Recovering from full-blown identity theft, in which fraudulent accounts are opened or fraudulent documents are issued in your name, can take years. This type of fraud can be complex and far-reaching, involving multiple avenues of misuse — some of which may go undiscovered until a collection agency attempts to collect a debt that you weren't even aware existed. It wreaks havoc on credit scores and sometimes places extraordinary stress on victims and their families.

Not all of the effects of identity theft are as easy to quantify or resolve, however. For instance, identity-theft victims often suffer serious emotional consequences, though that element of recovery is rarely discussed. But imagine losing your dream home because you couldn't get a mortgage, due to years'-old identity theft of which you weren't aware.

A full 36 percent of victims report suffering moderate to severe emotional distress as a result of identity theft. A recent Equifax report detailed the psychological toll identity theft can take on its victims, noting that many of these individuals experience emotional effects similar to those experienced by victims of assault or home invasion.

If you've been the victim of identity theft, immediately consult the federal government's online resources for ID-theft management. With just a few clicks, you can report fraud and build a custom recovery plan to handle your situation. Once that's in place, consider consulting with a therapist or psychologist to help manage the emotional fallout.

If you've never been a victim of identity theft, count your blessings. The good news is that minimizing your risk of identity theft is easier that it may seem. Here are a few tips:

1. Shred sensitive documents before throwing them away. Anything that has personal or financial information — canceled checks, credit-card statements, even junk mail from a bank or credit-card company — is a potential gold mine to an identity thief. When shopping for a good shredder, look for a model that crosscuts the paper into tiny pieces, rather than just into strips that can be pasted back together.

2. Erase computer and smartphone hard drives. Clean out your personal information before getting rid of old PCs, tablets and smartphones. It is surprisingly easy for someone to get access to personal data if the hard drive hasn't been totally reformatted and cleaned.

3. Use antivirus software on your computer. Antivirus software will stop most attacks, as long as you let it update every day. Also, don't download anything that you don't trust completely.

4. Check your credit reports regularly for discrepancies. You can get up to three credit reports free every year. Reading them can help you head off any potential issues before they become too big.

5. Don't give out personal information over email. You don’t trust everyone you meet on the street, so why would you trust people who email you out of the blue? A reputable company won't email you to solicit personal information, so if you're seeing messages asking for your Social Security number, it's likely a ploy.

6. Make your passwords strong and unique. Passwords often act as both your first and last lines of defense against information theft. A strong password should be fairly long and use both numbers and symbols in addition to letters. If you have trouble remembering all of those complex passwords, use a password manager.

7. Enable two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, creates a secondary wall that's harder to bypass than a password alone. Enable it on your online accounts whenever possible.

Identity theft is serious business, and it often goes much further than just losing a credit card and making a few phone calls. But there is hope. Use the knowledge in this article to keep your private information private and your identity secure.

Planning your travel properly can save you money and can make your vacation free of stress. Here are some of the best practices for planning your trip abroad.

Where do you want to go? What places do you want to visit abroad? Activities you like?

List the things you want to ‘see’ and ‘do’ on your vacation. This may seem the easiest step of all but it is important to make sure to be clear on this one so you could plan your expenses well.

There are so many factors to consider in choosing a place to stay. Do a lot of research, read reliable reviews and make sure to choose a hotel that will not only fit your budget but isn’t a total dive.

If you plan on renting a car or hiring a chauffeured service upon arrival, it is best to plan those details in advance. Choose the most cost-effective and time-efficient way to piece all the places in your itinerary together. Renting a car can give you a lot of stress especially on the paper works and can take up so much time, thus it is best to hire a chauffeur service to efficiently maximize your time having fun and minimize time in transit.

You can trust Tokyo MK Taxi as you preferred chauffeur service across Japan, Korea and the United States. If you wish to travel with comfort and style, Tokyo MK Taxi features Lexus group enthusiasts’ luxurious sedans like Lexus LS600hL and Lexus LS460, a wonderful ride for your ideal trip.

Start packing early and pack lightly. Take only the essentials and leave items you absolutely won’t need. Moreover, make sure you have all the necessary documentation to travel. Don't leave things for the last minute preparation. Or else, you could find your travel plans blocked because you didn't plan in advance.

If you plan your trip with care and detail then you are more likely to have a truly wonderful vacation so enjoy and live in the moment!

The basics of opening an offshore bank account are similar to opening a bank account in your home country. Offshore banks will ask for your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, address, citizenship and occupation.

To verify your personal information, you can expect to submit a copy of your passport, driver's license or other identifying documents issued by a governmental agency. Additionally, banks are concerned with verifying your residence or physical address since this may affect taxation issues. This requirement may be satisfied by presenting a utility bill or similar documents.

Due to the wide range of different identification documents that may be presented to offshore banks, additional assurance of a document's authenticity is often required. A notarized copy of certain documents may suffice in some cases. Other offshore centers prefer an "apostilles" stamp, which is a special type of certification mark that is used internationally. Where this is the case, you will need to visit the government office that is authorized to issue this stamp for your state or nation. (For a general overview, also see taking a Look at Tax Havens.)

While the basics are similar, there are often considerable additional requirements to open the account. These requirements are in place to discourage money laundering, tax fraud or other illegal activities that are often associated with offshore banking.

First, offshore banks may ask for financial reference documents from your current bank, indicating average balances and a "satisfactory relationship." Most commonly, this is satisfied by bank statements for the last six to 12 months.

Second, many offshore banks ask about the nature of transactions expected to take place through the account. This may seem overly intrusive, but offshore banking centers have been under increasing pressure to stop illegal activity. For this purpose, many offshore banks want additional documentation, noting the source of the funds you are depositing in the bank.

If the money is from your job, a wage slip from your employer will likely suffice. To verify your investment income, an offshore bank may ask for information about your investments and where they are held.

If you have significant funds from a business or real estate transaction, you may need to provide sales contracts or other relevant documents. If you are depositing funds from an insurance contract, you may need to provide a letter from your insurance company. If your money comes from an inheritance, the bank may ask for a letter from the executor of the estate testifying to this effect.

Unlike domestic accounts, offshore bank accounts offer an option of which currency to hold the funds in. This can be a highly valuable feature of an offshore account, especially if one's domestic currency is unstable or expected to depreciate.

It is important to understand the consequences of holding your account in different currencies. For example, holding funds in certain currencies may allow you to earn interest on your deposits, but it can also result in foreign tax liability. Also, you may need to exchange currencies to make deposits and withdrawals, which could be a significant expense depending on the fee structure and exchange rates offered (see 6 Factors That Influence Exchange Rates.)

Offshore bank accounts are most often funded electronically through international wire transfers. Unfortunately, the systems that enable free electronic transfers common in domestic banking are typically not able to transfer money internationally.

Sending a wire transfer is a simple operation, but almost all banks charge international wire transfer fees to send or receive funds. Pricing for wire transfers varies from bank to bank, so be sure to look for deals. Unfortunately, there are few good alternatives. Domestic checks are generally not accepted in foreign jurisdictions, and depositing funds in person on a regular basis is impractical.

Offshore banks offer a variety of ways to withdraw funds to maximize the convenience of using their services. Many offshore banks issue a normal debit/ATM card that allows you to easily access your funds worldwide. You will want to look into the fees for using this method, since they can be expensive. Withdrawing larger amounts of cash at one time may help to minimize these fees.

Some offshore banks offer checks. However, this is usually not a preferred method– primarily, because confidentiality is often desired in offshore accounts. Problems may also arise since checks drawn on foreign accounts are not always accepted locally.

The best option may be to use two accounts: one offshore, one domestic. In this way, electronic wire transfers can be used to transfer larger amounts of offshore funds to a domestic account where they can be easily accessed. This method offers greater privacy and security, while also providing the convenience of local banking services.

Despite the mystique surrounding offshore banking, it is relatively simple to open an account. Often all it takes is filling out the paperwork, supplying some basic identifying documents and providing additional information to show that you are not planning to use the account for illegal activity.

Choosing the best currency and optimizing deposits and withdrawals are slightly more complicated, but the best choices should become clearer as you study the various options. When using offshore bank accounts and receiving international wire transfers, it is important to consult with a tax professional to ensure you are following all the tax regulations at home and abroad.

There is a current misconception that offshore business is about evading taxes and hiding money from the government, which is certainly not the case.

There are 100% legitimate ways to structure your business interests overseas and realize significant benefits from an asset protection standpoint — as well as tax-standpoint.

Want an example? In the last few years companies such as Google, Apple and a multitude of other companies have cut their taxes by billions of dollars in completely legitimate ways.

You too can do this.

Some say this is unethical and cheating, but not surprisingly, those who say these are most often not the same people as those who create value in society. If you’ve found your way to this page, chances are strong that you’re a value creator and want to keep more of the money you get back as a result of creating value.

First of all, you don’t have to start a company offshore to save on taxes. If you’re an American, just moving out of the US is a terrific first step.

As a US expat, about $100,000 in overseas income is tax exempt, meaning that if you live outside the US you don’t have to pay any taxes at all on the first $100,000 or so of foreign sourced income (you still have to file your tax report though).

However, the real tax advantage from running an offshore company as a US citizen doesn’t come from direct tax savings.

It comes from tax deferment, meaning you postpone the payment of taxes into the future. If you run a business overseas and reinvest profits within the company you can defer taxes indefinitely.

Let’s say you have a profitable company overseas. Now imagine that instead of paying taxes on your profits every year you can reinvest that capital in your offshore company every year for 30 years, and only pay taxes if you decide to sell the company after 30 years.

Being able to reinvest your capital tax-free combined with the power of compound interest makes this a truly exceptional opportunity.

It’s a great idea to structure your business overseas, especially one that’s online-based. If you incorporate your foreign business properly, it provides a legal way to defer tax payments (similarly to an IRA), as well as enabling much reduced liability.

An online business has no limits as to how and where it can do business, so why should you let your business be limited by a jurisdiction that is based on the old, geographically limited model? Starting an offshore online business is a great way to build streams of income outside of your home country.

Why would you want to have income streams outside of your country? Well, when inflation runs rampant in a country, having an income stream overseas in a stronger currency can potentially be a lifesaver.

If hyperinflation would find its way to your country, which is a real risk with central banks all around the world printing new money 24/7, earning only a small part of your income in a different country is invaluable.

An internet business based overseas, coupled with an offshore bank account, is the perfect medium through which you can do this.

There are dozens of jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong, Singapore and the British Virgin Islands that offer a great business environment with fully legal tax benefits.

The most important thing that you MUST do is ask for advice from a qualified tax attorney (someone who understands international tax law) in your home country. Additionally, learn enough to understand the benefits of particular offshore jurisdictions.

After you’ve done your due diligence, it’s possible to go through the whole incorporation process online in most jurisdictions, and you can often set up your offshore company in as little as a few days. You often start the process with registering a company name and sending in the right documentation. The next step, after incorporation, is often to open a bank account or merchant account for your business.

Here are a few selected articles from Sovereign Man about starting and running an offshore company. You will find tons of information by searching the internet, but it’s hard to know if a company is giving correct information or if the purpose of their information is to get their hands into your pockets.