Links in “Financial Crime”

Opinion piece in Esquire uses Citizens Bank "shoddy" deposit-processing practice as an example of why calls to abolish the CFPB are a mistake. [8/14/15]

Fraud growth is accelerating at a faster pace than purchase volume. Unfortunately, more than $5 of every $100 spent worldwide was spent on fraudulent transactions, with the majority of those transactions occurring in the United States. [8/10/15]

Nearly $2 million was stolen by a former CU manager over a 13 year period. Kathryn Sue Simmerman would swipe money from the Shoreline Federal Credit Union  vault and hide it in her purse. Simmerman agreed to plead guilty to embezzlement and structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements. [7/31/15]

FinCEN has passed a final rule which implements the fifth special measure against FBME Bank, a Middle Eastern bank which was cited as a money laundering concern back in July of 2014. [7/29/15]

Two Florida men have been arrested for running a sham company and controlling a small, low-income New Jersey credit union in order to operate an unlicensed Bitcoin exchange. According to New York federal prosecutors, the scheme was designed to launder money for criminals. [7/23/15]

Four have been arrested in connection with a series of fraudulent investment schemes involving penny stocks and Bitcoin that spanned the globe. Authorities suspect that some of the men arrested also had a hand in last summers hacking of JPMorgan, which compromised ht econtact information for 83 million bank customers. The huge compute attack may have been an attempt to fuel an ongoing pump-and-dump stock scheme. [7/22/15]

A former U.S. Marine has allegedly stolen $138,789 from Navy Federal Credit Union accounts belonging to his fellow marines. He was charged with five counts of bank fraud, four counts of fraudulent claims, and one count of fraud with identification documents. [7/21/15]

Major retail photo sites have been the target of a cross-company credit card information breach. CVS, Rite Aid, Sam's Club, Costco, Walmart Canada, and several other retail chains have suspended their online photo services following the possible breach. [7/21/15]

Credit union fraud detection has proved to be so slow that thieves are often willing to pay more for stolen card numbers and other data involving credit union issuers. In fact, credit unions and smaller institutions are bigger targets than megabanks like Citibank or Capital One. The looming EMV conversion will likely make this problem worse. [7/16/15]

Ever wonder how online sites selling malware, botnets, stolen credit card information, and hacking software manage to operate with impunity? Turns out they don't always. Darkode, one of the most infamous underground cyber forums, was infiltrated by law enforcement officials from many countries, resulting in charges, arrests, and searches of 70 members. [7/16/15]