In an effort to assist in reducing the incidence of phishing attacks, Netcraft has introduced a service that enables organizations to track occurrences of their name, brands, trademarks and slogs on the Internet.

The service helps companies identify sites which may be trying to construct frauds, identity theft and phishing attacks by pretending to be the bank, or are implying that the site has a relationship with the bank when in fact there is none.

Common attacks on banks through Internet content creation include phishing (attempts to trick account holders to give their account authentication details away), fraudulent association with the bank as part of investment scams, and trademark violation.

This week's Economist has an article about eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

As for PayPal, even though it is increasingly being used as a currency across the internet, she says she does not want it to become a bank, especially with all the onerous regulation that would involve.

Business Week reports on First Data Corp. and discusses the merger with Concord EFS.

While the merger between the two relatively low-profile payment-processing companies got scant attention outside banking circles, industry experts believe First Data now can make inroads where those other rivals couldn't. The reason: First Data's ownership of vast electronic- payment networks will provide it with a flow of fees the other rivals to MasterCard and Visa never had.

Meanwhile, First Data's Western Union unit has announced a deal with Continental Airlines enabling purchasers to pay with cash rather than credit cards.

Starting immediately, Continental Airlines' customers traveling in the domestic U.S. and Canada can make use of a new, easy-to-use cash payment alternative when using continental.com to book flights online. The collaborative service offering, provided by Western Union and Continental Airlines, will broaden consumer payment options and convenience for those who choose to send cash payments. Cash payment options allow consumers to send their payment for electronic airline tickets at any of nearly 45,000 Western Union Agent locations nationwide after reserving a ticket online.