Three of the members of the fraud and drug ring are all serving their sentences in the same prison. Time will tell if this incarceration serves to change their ways or serves as a launching pad for future fraud schemes as they conspire daily on the prison grounds. What the Investigation Results Reveal for Bankers While the fraud illustrated previously is a solitary case, in a world of millions of fraud cases per year, it reflects macro changes taking place in the world of fraud, specifically the following: • The increasing knowledge and sophistication of the criminal rings targeting banks and their customers. • The speed at which criminals operate to monetize their stolen information, documents and PII. • The speed at which bank transactions move. (Think Fed Now and other FED changes to “Instant Payments” initiatives.) • The inability of law enforcement and the criminal justice system to respond to the fraud epidemic. • The evolution of “street criminals” to highly organized “cyber-savvy fraud rings.” • The overall moral decline in the marketplace and its implicit invitation to get “easy money.” • The identification and authentication of identities for account openings and transactions. What Bankers Need to Address Identifying steps your bank can take to address the rapid changes taking place will involve: • Investments in technology and fraud personnel equipped to use predictive modeling and AI. • Customer dashboards incorporating transaction and maintenance activity as part of fraud strategy. • Development of a fraud strategy, to include the level of support and advocacy the bank will provide to victim customers. • A systematic approach to the consolidation of fraud methods in real-time to respond to threats more quickly. Jim Rechel is president of The Rechel Group Inc., a leading risk consulting business providing organizations with fraud risk analysis, fraud prevention, detection and investigation services. He is a former banker and FBI Agent and now a fraud consultant who has overseen thousands of investigations with losses that ranged from $2,000 to $200 million and involved complex international criminal rings, government corruption and suicides/homicides, which were the direct result of the fraud schemes. More importantly, he has overseen investigations of modest dollar amounts that have devastating impacts on the customers and businesses that bankers serve. Interested in learning more about bank security or hearing from Jim Rechel in person? The WVBankers Bank Security School offers a comprehensive educational program tailored for both novice and seasoned Security Officers. Learn more by visiting www.wvbankers.org for our Calendar of Events. 23 West Virginia Banker
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw