Blog Post

Motley Fool’s The Ascent recently took look at FTC statistics in order to get a handle on mounting COVID-19 fraud losses losses to persons and businesses. COVID-19 fraud is defined in this case as any type of scam, fraud, or identity theft related to the novel coronavirus. Key findings from the report include: As of August 10, 2020, Americans have reported over 160,000 cases of fraud and losses of over $106 million.

A story from the New York Post features Case William Kelley, 42, who utilized a home printer to create a fraudulent check to successfully purchase a Porsche from an Oklahoma Dealer. This may sound like fake news…

Nigerian “419 scammer” goes big time “Hushpuppi” portrayed himself as successful and wealthy to recruit and fool victims It was a small error that eventually snared him By now, the phrase “Nigerian email scammer” has become a cliche to the extent that one wonders if they actually exist in the literal sense — a person…

An article by Antoinette Burnside, assistant vice president and product manager for Kennewick-based Community First Bank and HFG Trust, appeared in the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, describing how pervasive check fraud is feeding financial fraud in general.

Among the myriad fraud schemes emerging during the COVID-19 crisis are “money mule schemes.” A money mule is “a person who transfers illegally acquired money on behalf of or at the direction of another.” These are scams that, frankly, take advantage of the desperation some persons and businesses feel due to to COVID-19 economic impacts. In this climate, actors are able to fairly easily deceive otherwise savvy victims by impersonating federal government agencies, international organizations, or charities.

Pymnts.com looks at the startling emerging story of a Germany payments company called Wirecard, where as much as $2.1 billion may be unaccounted for.

The story notes that “even the largest companies with the most resources to digitize and combat fraud are not immune to the risk — from both within and outside of, the organization.”

As noted many times both here and in the general media, check fraud persistent and pervasive — and now compounded by fraudsters constructing corona virus-related scams.

Financial institutions should be on high alert for scams and fraud schemes that target the institution itself and/or its customers. It is equally important for financial institutions to evaluate their current check fraud processes and technologies and identify any possible gaps.

This is a fairly typical fraud scheme that many, if not all of us, have encountered within our email inboxes. While we would normally mark the email as “spam,” delete it from our inbox, and move on with our day, there is a reason fraudsters continue to utilize this scam. The emails are sent to a large number of email addresses in hopes to find a less technically savvy individuals.

According to Frank on Fraud, there are 16 main types of check fraud On the surface, check fraud growth defies logic A huge amount of check fraud goes unreported – – up to $1.2 billion in losses per year, in fact FRANK ON FRAUD is a terrific (and entertaining) blog by Frank McKenna, the Co-Founder…