Cyber Risks, the Achilles’ Heel of Cashless Economies

Newspapers around the globe are telling us that contactless payments are thriving, cash is rapidly disappearing and cashless society is practically around the corner. 
You don’t need cash to pay for your groceries anymore, and don’t be afraid if you forgot to take your wallet with you – just use your smartphone. Carl Scheible, Managing Director of PayPal UK, summarizes [1] the current situation:

We’ll see a huge change over the next few years in the way we shop and pay for things … you’ll be able to leave your wallet at home and use your mobile as the 21st century digital wallet.

Some are dissatisfied with this state of affairs. In this case, the classical tactic of intimidation becomes the main argument of champions of cashless society. Cash is used by criminals; our children can buy drugs with cash; cash supports the shadow economy and encourages tax evasion – these are just some of these loud statements.
Ability to present control as protection is based on constant calls to think about an external enemy, that is terrorists or mafia. This element of moral panic is contrasted with friendly and unobtrusive advertising of digital payments. The newborn cashless society is emerging like the sunrise, washing away these dangerous dirty banknotes with the rays of hygienic and convenient digital salvation.
This rosy picture is completed by speeches of academicians, economists and futurists that live in green suburbs, fly business class and demonize bills and coins.
Without cash, we would live in a much safer, less violent world with enhanced social cohesion, since the major incentive fueling all illegal activity [i.e. cash]… would disappear,” believes [2] Guillermo de la Dehesa, a Spanish economist and current international advisor to Banco Santander and Goldman Sachs.
And the trick is working. Cash is being excluded from the official economy, and tellers are watching with suspicion while you are fumbling for coins in your wallet. There is a sign on every other store: “No cash accepted“.
However, the same system that facilitates the unhampered flow of information and its use for commercial purposes, also provides technically dexterous criminals with almost limitless opportunities to capitalize on their neighbor. How is it possible? Let’s see.
Why it’s wise to be a little bit paranoid
It won’t take long to figure out why we have become vulnerable to cyber crooks:

  • In 2017, 2.73 billion people worldwide will use [3] a mobile phone to connect to the internet
  • Among people under the age of 24, four in ten internet users were using [4] online banking, while over one in two internet users between the age of 65 and 74 were engaging in internet banking across the EU in 2016.
  • Nearly two thirds of internet users in the European Union made [5] online purchases in 2015.

The online world is penetrating into all aspects of our everyday life, from paying taxes to hiring and changing the mailing address. And as commerce is turning digital, we are becoming increasingly defenseless against intruders. Steve Morgan, the founder and CEO at Cybersecurity Ventures, published [6] some figures regarding the issue:

  • Cybercrime damage costs will hit $6 trillion annually by 2021
  • About 6 billion people will become victims of cyber-attacks by 2022
  • Global ransomware damage costs are predicted to exceed $5 billion in 2017

These are impressive figures – which is not surprising, because it’s profitable to be a cybercriminal. Trustwave claims spammers can earn [7] up to 90,000 euros a month. Price for various malicious software starts from 120 euros while the profit can grow ten times bigger.
It doesn’t get any easier with the fact that cybercriminals are incredibly difficult to catch. The world industry of cyber security is still not completely sure who stole the money from the bank of Bangladesh – and it’s been more than a year since then!
Leo Taddeo, a former New York FBI special agent in charge of fighting cybercrime, explains [8]:
Hackers use tools to disguise their IP address. Other technologies like Tor and encryption add other layers to make it difficult to identify them. These tools are widely available. They make it a resource-intensive and time-consuming task to find hackers.”
Worst of all, users remain unprotected, being subject to risks of theft. Fair and square, the bank should be held responsible regardless of guilt, since it carries out risk-based activities. However, this rarely happens in reality – the only exception is that the money will be returned in full when the creditor’s fault is proven. Yet, it is incredibly difficult to prove the guilt, because banks always provide themselves with a backdoor for cases like that. Simply put, nothing depends on you with non-cash payments, and there’s no adequate protection.
To be the sole owner of your money
Is it possible to avoid these risks? Perhaps it’s worth going back a bit and regaining responsibility for your own money – with help of cash.
Keeping a part of money in cash as a war chest allows us to rely on ourselves. If there is no public confidence in non-cash settlements, then no measures, even punitive ones, will help.
Partly for this reason, cash payments are still very popular. We need cash not only because of the lack of necessary infrastructure and logistics in remote geographic areas, but also due to growing crises in the politics and economy of many countries, distrust of banking and payment systems, cyber risks of cyber-attacks and cyber-fraud. Despite the ecstatic claims that cash is dead, the demand for cash is still climbing up [9] across the United States and Europe.
After all, if the cash is really “dying”, then why does its share in money turnover is growing, and why investments in improving cash circulation are so large? No one would waste huge sums on initially unpromising projects.
William Davis is a PhD student in Economics.

  1. www.cgap.org/blog/allure-cashless-society
  2. wolfstreet.com/2015/04/25/don-quijones-war-on-cash-quotes-to-cashless-society/
  3. www.emarketer.com/content/emarketer-updates-worldwide-internet-and-mobile-user-figures
  4. www.independent.ie/business/irish-above-eu-average-for-online-banking-but-lowest-for-news-35991299.html
  5. ecommercenews.eu/65-internet-users-eu-shopped-online-2015/
  6. www.csoonline.com/article/3153707/security/top-5-cybersecurity-facts-figures-and-statistics.html
  7. www.sentryo.net/the-new-professional-cybercrime-industry-ever-more-lucrative-and-threatening/
  8. www.raconteur.net/technology/catching-hackers-is-not-getting-easier
  9. www.cashrepository.com/2017/03/myth-cash-demand-is-declining/
  • https://www.globalresearch.ca/cyber-risks-the-achilles-heel-of-cashless-economies/5653002

11 thoughts on “Cyber Risks, the Achilles’ Heel of Cashless Economies”

  1. And no where was it mentioned that its the CABAL’s intention to have everyone chipped, so as you HAVE to use digital money, just by waving your wrist over something, REALLY.. and when it comes to light you said something against the cabal or didn’t comply to some new anti freedom rule they invent every other day ,guess what they will just cut you off, no access to any money to buy or pay for anything, if you think this is all tinfoil hat stuff you need to start looking properly where these banksters want us to go for their enrichment and world control,
    In China they are almost there and have the ‘Social Credit’ score,(which they are introducing in the West soon if we let them, you get bonus points if you rat on your neighbor, so fascist, Canada has an Ap for that already for those doing ‘good’ works).
    If you do something wrong, you get cut off from being able to use public transport for weeks as punishment or banned from using child support or benefits cut…..
    And the biggest thing its really going to be used for, yes to be able to dip into your account whenever and where ever they like, and NOTHING you can do about it, they have you 100% by the curlies… Who ever would want to be utterly controlled by these crooks for the sake of ,”Oh its so convenient” Talk about rushing into a Gulag.
    This is all proposed and being actioned according to the Zionists UN Agenda 21 by our governments that have all signed up to make it happen for these crooks, One Governance, One Digital Money,One Religion, no countries just Zones of allowed human habitat… yes the main stay is the Rothschilds of course..
    Before you smugly scream tin hat junkie, just LOOK IT UP….. after that venture onto the Wild Lands Project.

    1. You are so right Rodney, its is a case of sold by deceit when the real issue is not crime caused from cash in society but a matter of total control. These banksters transfer millions from one country to the next undetected by us to do their dirty work – this will continue. And the goyim that do their dirty work are unaware of its consequences but are nevertheless rewarded handsomely for their participation.
      An example, ex british prime minister Margaret Thatcher, her son was arrested in South Africa many years ago for financing a coup in the Philippines, it wasn’t successful. Anyways as per normal the british government came down heavy on the SA government who subsequently released the bastard!
      We will never get to know these things if full control is effected.

  2. Geeee Folks!…A “Cashless” banking system is just what the Bankoholic’s want…That way they can RIP US OFF even much easier…Just a presented in the Movie: “AMERICA, FREEDOM TO FASCISM”….ALL being represented as “Protecting” US from fraud….WHICH THEY ARE THE MASTERS OF FRAUD!!!
    LAUGH!!!
    This is WHY nobody in His/Her Mind should NEVER buy into the “Crypto-currencies”…Which someone once Comically called “FART-MONEY”.
    Ya’ kain’t SEE it…Bucha’ kin sure’s Hell SMELL IT!

    1. Remember to those so-called ID Chips can also be “Planted” else where…like in or On a card or a device like those so-called “Smart-Phones”…Which is Why I don’t even Have one…I use an old fashion cell phone I never keep attached to my body…and Only carry when I have extended times away from home.

      1. “What’s that, goy? You don’t want a chip in your hand? No problem, goy! We’ll just put the chip in a phone and put the phone in your hand! Along with six million apps and a whole lot of pron! What’s not to like about that?

  3. Mobile phones can easily be used to kill people. Just send an abnormal signal concentrated at a critical part of human body. Since the phone has camera on both sides, it can easily compute where that critical human organ is, and target it dirctly, without anyone suspecting anything. And such a technological feature can be masked by a legitimate looking purpose.
    What will happen to gold. I think people would use gold in a cashless socirty, unless it is banned as well.
    I think pure gold standard is not good either, because countries would prefer not to work, and instead poison environment to extract gol from land and seabase.

    1. ANY, kind of Money is something that WILL be replaced by “Mind-Over-Matter” technology just as WE were Created to become (HU-Woman/Man or GOD-Wo-Man/Man)
      Then Money will cease to Exist, just as it already has with those closest to “Divine Providence/Prime Source” Beings located all over OUR Universe in the upper dimensions.
      Those “Poor Folks” of “Man-Kind” may never SEE this happen.
      MONEY is a SLAVE System for CONTROL…OVER THAT WHICH NEVER BELONGED TO “LUCIFER’S” FOLLOWERS.

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