fraud: DOJ Alleges $8 Million Familiar Fraud at Transit Authority - 04/19/23 11:23 AM
Would Your Employees Notice Millions in Fraud?The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced indictments against two individuals suspected of familiar fraud schemes that led to $8 million in losses for Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority commuter rail operator Keolis between July 2014 and November 2021. Both the scope and the longevity of these schemes are exceptional, although the methods used to steal the money are very common, raising questions about why the individual charged was able to commit this fraud for so long.
What Happened in the Keolis Familiar Fraud Case?John P. Pigsley of Beverly, Massachusetts, a former Assistant Chief Engineer … (10 comments)

fraud: How to Determine if a GUN Website is Fake or Real? - 01/06/22 09:24 AM
There are many scammers out there, and one of the things they like to do is to create fake sites that are meant to trick people into giving them personal information, commit identity theft or wire fraud or they’re designed to facilitate a P2P payment like Venmo or PayPal or they’re designed to siphon money via a wire transfer.
Empire Gun Shop is set up specifically to scam users via a wire transfer. I stumbled upon the site via a Google search looking for a specific part for an old firearm that was provided to me. Google index’s the site, which is … (8 comments)

fraud: Beware of Hot and Cold Reading Scams - 02/09/16 09:52 PM
Many so-called psychics are frauds. But so are some auto mechanics, lenders and roofers. There’s fraud in just about all lines of work.
What we do know is this: There’s not enough evidence to refute paranormal phenomena. Nor enough to prove it beyond a doubt.
And we also know this: There exist scams involving hot and cold readings.
I could give a scam reading to a flamboyant, colorfully-dressed woman (whom I’ve known for only a minute) with big hair, lots of costume jewelry and a supersonic laugh.
I could tell her she’s attracted to quiet, analytical, detail-oriented, very serious men whose eyes well up during sappy movies. She’ll pay me $100 … (0 comments)

fraud: Student Financial Aid Fraud is a big Problem - 01/30/14 09:25 PM
Educational institutions are giving out student loans and grants, and the recipients aren’t even attending school. Instead they’re spending the money any which way, while the schools have no idea they’re being ripped off.

With a database, the Education Department flags applicants who’ve applied for federal Pell grants—applicants with an “unusual enrollment history,” such as having received financial aid for at least three schools in only 12 months.
The Department forwards these suspect names to educational institutions; the schools then request that applicants provide documents including prior transcripts. What the school then gets from the applicant determines if a loan … (2 comments)

fraud: Identifying devices can stop mortgage fraud - 12/16/13 08:41 PM
What is mortgage fraud? The act of intentionally facilitating the use of, or using, any misrepresentation, misstatement or omission in a deliberate manner, being aware of the same to contain such, during a mortgage lending process, with the aim that the mortgage lender, borrower or any other participant to the mortgage lending process relies upon it.

Sometimes mortgage fraud involves identity theft. This means consumers must be leery of people who may purchase a house in their name. Today’s lending standards are much more lax than they were three decades ago, creating more opportunities for scams.
First time home buyers, … (0 comments)

fraud: Banks Sues Client Over Wire Fraud - 06/16/13 01:30 PM
Banks usually have relatively secure systems to maintain and protect online banking activities. They’ve spent billions to ensure that criminal hackers don’t liquidate all of our accounts. But criminals spend all their time seeking vulnerabilities and often find some way to make a fraudulent withdrawal.
Over the past decade as we have all (mostly) banked and bought stuff online, criminals have formed organized web mobs to sniff out transactions and take over existing accounts and in some cases open up new accounts.
American Banker reports an example of what can still go wrong: “the $2 billion-asset bank is suing Wallace & Pittman, a … (1 comments)

fraud: Phony Identities Result in $200 Million Fraud - 03/17/13 04:23 PM
Recently, the FBI arrested 13 people in four states. Their crime? Allegedly creating thousands of phony identities with which to steal at least $200 million in one of the largest credit card fraud schemes ever charged by the Department of Justice.
Bloomberg reports that after using 7,000 false identities to obtain 25,000 credit cards, the conspirators ran the scam through real businesses such as jewelry stores, and at least 80 sham companies under more than 1,800 addresses. 
The defendants charged in the complaint allegedly used fake Social Security numbers to fabricate identities and obtain credit cards, doctoring credit reports to pump up the … (2 comments)

fraud: 10,000+ Identity Theft Rings In The U.S. - 01/28/13 02:36 PM
Identity theft is the easiest crime to commit and the hardest crime to get caught for. It has been said numerous times that identity theft is the closest we’ve ever come to the perfect crime.  This explains why a recent study by ID Analytics found more than 10,000 identity fraud rings in the U.S.  An identity fraud ring is a group of people actively collaborating to commit identity fraud. This study is the first to investigate the interconnections of identity manipulators and identity fraudsters to identify rings of criminals working in collaboration.
In a press release, ID Analytics states that many of … (1 comments)

fraud: 1 in 4 Report Being a Victim of Card Fraud - 12/01/12 10:42 AM
The 2012 Global Card Fraud Survey by ACI Worldwide represents the insights and opinions of more than 5200 card holders from 17 countries and focuses exclusively on the impact to the card holder and their state of mind. Residents of Mexico and the United States reported the highest rate of card fraud experience. Some of the survey’s other key findings include:
Financial Institutions are running the risk of losing customers due to fraud, either directly, or through a decreased use of their cards. Consumers report they fear identity theft most and would like to be notified immediately by banks of any potential fraud. … (1 comments)

fraud: Internet Fraud: Beware of Fake Diplomas When Hiring - 08/31/12 08:46 AM
Entire colleges websites are being copied and replicated, but with fictitious names and then providing fake college diplomas. In one instance The Wall Street Journal reports, “the site is part of a scheme to collect application fees from prospective students.” Presumably, scammers could simply collect a fee and then issue a rejection letter several weeks later and in some situation offer fake degrees.
Spoofed websites are generally created in order to phish for consumers’ personal information, or to accept credit card payments for products or services that will never be delivered.
In the case of the nonexistent University of Redwood, it’s … (2 comments)

fraud: Firm Documents Increase In Holiday Cyber Fraud - 12/28/11 08:30 PM
iovation is the leader in device reputation technology. They work to prevent all types of fraud and abuse on the Internet, including account takeovers, which occurs when your existing bank or credit card accounts are infiltrated and money is siphoned out. iovation also helps prevent new account fraud, which refers to financial identity theft in which the victim’s personal identifying information and good credit standing are used to create new accounts, which are then used to obtain products and services. Stolen Social Security numbers are often used to commit new account fraud.
During this year’s record-breaking Black Friday and Cyber Monday, … (1 comments)

fraud: Javelin Study Shows Increased Credit Card Fraud Risk - 10/30/11 03:04 PM
Consumers, businesses, retailers, and even the media are becoming numb to news about data breaches. Not a week goes by when we don’t hear of another major breach affecting thousands or even millions of customer accounts.
Criminal hackers are getting smarter and savvier all the time, and they often have better technology than the banks and retailers tasked with protecting your data.
Time reported on a recent Javelin Strategy and Research survey in which Javelin analyzed 23 of the biggest credit card issuers’ online security practices. When companies were graded on a 100-point scale, the average result was just 59. Javelin head of … (1 comments)

fraud: The Evolution Of Online Fraud Prevention - 10/20/11 05:35 AM
Around 1994, when I operated a small mail order catalog business, it was very difficult to obtain “merchant status,” or approval to accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express cards. It was easier if you had a storefront, but payment processors made mail order businesses jump through more hoops. Their main concern was that companies could set up shop, accept tons of credit card charges, and then vanish, leaving the banks short. Mail order fraud was also big. A stolen credit card could be used to place orders over the phone, and when the fraudulent charges were discovered, merchants would suffer … (1 comments)

fraud: Study Shows Banks Blocking More Fraud - 10/01/11 12:31 PM

Network World reports, “The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) polled 77 financial institutions and asked how many account takeovers occurred in 2009 and during the first six months of 2010. The FS-ISAC consists of a group of banks that shares threat information and interacts with the federal government on critical infrastructure issues. Its members include Citi, Prudential, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, among others.”
Account takeover occurs when thieves infiltrate your existing bank or credit card account and siphon out your money. This typically occurs after your account has been hacked or … (0 comments)

fraud: Username and Passwords Are Facilitating Fraud - 09/25/11 03:28 PM
In 2005, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council stated:
“The agencies consider single-factor authentication, as the only control mechanism, to be inadequate for high-risk transactions involving access to customer information or the movement of funds to other parties. Account fraud and identity theft are frequently the result of single-factor (e.g., ID/password) authentication exploitation. Where risk assessments indicate that the use of single-factor authentication is inadequate, financial institutions should implement multifactor authentication, layered security, or other controls reasonably calculated to mitigate those risks.”
Here we are in 2011, six years later, and well over half a billion records have been breached. And … (1 comments)

fraud: FFIEC Mandates “System Of Layered Security” to Combat Fraud - 08/08/11 04:36 PM
For any cave-dwelling, living-under-a-rock, head-in-the-sand, naïve, under-informed members of society who aren’t paying attention, we have serious cyber-security issues on our hands.
Black hat hackers, who break into networks to steal for financial gain, are wreaking havoc on banks, retailers, online gaming websites, and social media. Black hats cost these companies and their clients billions of dollars every year. They are using stolen usernames and passwords to transfer money through wire transfers, Automated Clearing House (ACH) and through billing fraud.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) has repeatedly implored that come January 2012, any lagging financial institutions will be required … (0 comments)

fraud: Clients Alert Banks to Fraud - 06/16/11 01:16 PM
In a perfect world there would be no sickness, nothing would ever break, everyone would get along, yummy food wouldn’t make you fat, and there’d be no crime. However, there are forces over which you and I have no control and we have to struggle simply to maintain balance.
In a perfect world, a bank wouldn’t need you or me to help detect fraud.
According to a survey of banks and credit unions, 23% learn of fraud through their own auditing processes. This means that more than three quarters of all bank fraud is detected either by customers or third parties. … (3 comments)

fraud: Is Your Facebook Friend a Fed, or Sex Offender? - 03/31/10 09:18 PM
When you think about it, Facebook is weird. Where else in the world do you call people who you don’t know your friends? I probably have about 10-15 friends. Most are acquaintances and the others 400 are total strangers.
There’s a lot of excessive trust in the Facebook world. People have entirely dropped their sense of cynicism when logged on. They have no reason to distrust. People who are your “Friends” are generally those who you “know, like and trust.” In this world, your guard is as down as it will ever be. You are in the safety of your … (41 comments)

fraud: Sarah Palin Victim of Social Media Identity Theft, LaRussa Drops Suit - 07/09/09 04:39 AM
Robert Siciliano Identity Theft Expert
Since the beginning of the presidential campaign, Sarah Palin has used Twitter and Facebook to communicate with the public. Impostors have taken every opportunity to jack her persona, even hacking into her personal email account.
Now, hackers and impostors are chiming in on Sarah Palin’s resignation. The Twitter profile for ExGovSarahPalin snags and reuses graphics, photos and tweets from Sarah Palin’s “Verified” Twitter acount, AKGovSarahPalin. This fake Palin account is still live as of this writing. In one tweet, a Palin impersonator invited followers to her home for a barbecue. Her security staff was reading these … (0 comments)

 
Robert Siciliano, Realty Security and Identity Theft Expert Speaker (IDTheftSecurity.com Inc)

Robert Siciliano

Realty Security and Identity Theft Expert Speaker

Boston, MA

More about me…

IDTheftSecurity.com Inc

Address: PO Box 15145, Boston, MA, 02215

Office: (617) 329-1182



Listings

Links

Archives

RSS 2.0 Feed for this blog