Fraudsters Targeting #FraudFighters: Are They Starting to Panic?
- A well-known fraud-fighter is hit with fraud
- The lesson: No one is immune from fraudsters
- Proactive identify protection is vital
#FraudFighters has become a badge of honor in the industry. From industry experts to social influencers, it's more important than ever to spread awareness of fraud and scams that are affecting business, financial institutions, and individuals.
One of the most polarizing #FraudFighters is none other than Dr. David Maimon. For over half a decade, he's been researching fraudsters and encrypted messaging apps that leverage the dark web, uncovering fraudster trends -- including check fraud. Over the past few years, OrboGraph has been privileged to partner with Dr. Maimon in our effort to better understand the fraud ecosystem.
Well, it appears that the fraudster hunter has become a fraudster target -- which begs the question: Are the fraudsters panicking?
Threats and Intimidation Against Dr. Maimon
As many are aware, Dr. Maimon has a strong presence on social media. This includes LinkedIn, where he shares many of his findings with the industry. This presence has led to him being targeted by fraudsters, as he shares in a recent article on Forbes.com:
I've spent years as part of the fraud-fighting community, publishing academic research, sharing insights almost daily on LinkedIn, and speaking at conferences around the country. While much of my work to educate and raise awareness has been embraced, not everyone is a fan. In 2022, after I publicly reported on the alarming rise of check fraud in the U.S. and spoke with several major media outlets, I became a target.
Maimon received threatening text messages and soon discovered that his personal information -- including his Social Security number, home address, and credit report -- had been leaked to an underground fraud forum.
Over the next few days, Maimon observed in real-time how quickly his stolen identity was exploited by fraudsters. Within 24 hours, they had attempted to open accounts at multiple financial institutions and pull his credit report. In the following weeks, Maimon's identity was used to open six fraudulent bank accounts and apply for government assistance and tax-related services.
Maimon's experience highlights the sobering reality that identity theft victims often face a "long tail" of exploitation, as their personal data gets passed between individual criminal actors and incorporated into various fraud schemes over an extended period. Even after the initial flurry of activity, Maimon continued to see sporadic attempts to misuse his identity over the next two years, including a targeted effort during tax season.
Analyzing the patterns of fraud attempts, Maimon found that the criminals often used freshly created, disposable contact information, but sometimes left behind real, traceable details, likely to evade detection. The volume of activity eventually slowed -- perhaps due to increased monitoring or the decreasing reuse value of the leaked information -- but the threat will always exist.
Identity Theft and Check Fraud
This incident underscores the importance of proactive identity protection measures, such as:
- Quickly filing police reports
- Freezing credit
- Closely monitoring accounts and credit reports
Maimon emphasizes that "once your information is out there, you're not just guarding against fraud — you're managing an active threat that learns how to adapt".
Identity theft is a major component of check fraud, as fraudsters are not only able to write bad checks, but also create drop accounts to deposit stolen checks. While NICE Actimize reported that new accounts had a much higher propensity for fraud (17x more likely), we've seen fraudsters evolve their tactics to "age" accounts, performing legitimate transactions for longer periods to overcome traditional transactional analysis systems.
While #FraudFighters will not be deterred from spreading the message on fraud, FIs must do the same by keeping their customers informed through various channels, including social media. They should also deploy technologies that can detect both on-us and deposit check fraud -- including image forensic AI.
Remember, the worst thing we as #FraudFighters can do is stay silent and do nothing.