I Bought a “Legal” CPN – Here’s What Happened.
Credit Repair companies have a new gimmick designed to lead ordinary consumers down a very slippery slope and it’s called a CPN (Credit Privacy Number). The companies claim that “CPN’s are a nine-digit identification number that looks like a social security number (SSN) and may be used in lieu of an SSN, for such purposes […]
Is This The Cruelest Check Fraud of All Time?
She worked for Howdy Homemade Ice Cream and proudly posted a video to TikTok to celebrate receiving her first paycheck. It was her very first paycheck of her life. Dale Beck, a 28-year-old with special needs was excited to share with the world her first paycheck which totaled $1,500 and her video garnered over 4 million views. […]
Spot The 8 Tell-Tale Signs of A Synthetic Credit Bureau
Synthetic Identity is a beast of a fraud. ?♂️ It’s America’s fastest growing financial crime, according to the FBI, and is now causing billions in damages every year to just about every type of business. That includes banks, credit card companies, lenders, jewelers, retail stores, landlords renting their properties, and every retailer that grants credit. […]
If You Can’t Beat Em, Join Em. Insider Fraud Hits Post Office
Infamous Ghost has posted another great video that shows how insider fraud plays a part in check fraud’s massive growth. Many postal carriers are being robbed of their keys to still checks. Still, others are committing fraud themselves to cash in on the massive check fraud gold rush. Check out the video and subscribe to […]
How Someone Stole My Photographic Identity
I work in fraud management. I help banks and companies prevent fraud such as identity theft where someone steals their customers information, poses as them and then proceeds to sack their credit cards and bank accounts for everything in them. But a few years ago, I rann into an altogether new problem – Photography Identity […]
She Used PPP Funds To Murder a TSA Agent
A Florida woman took out a PPP loan and is accused of using some of that money to murder a young mother and her child. Jasmine Martinez took out a PPP loan for $15,000 for her beauty salon and used $10,000 of that money for the May 3rd murder of Le’Shonte Jones and the attempted […]
FTC Investigator Uncovers Credit Washing Fraud
The FTC receives and processes over 1.4 million identity theft reports a year. Those reports get loaded into their Consumer Sentinel Network making it one of the richest databases for tracking the patterns of fraud here in the US. But that data might be used for other purposes too. According to recent court documents I […]
The 8 Most Common Cash App Scams To Steal Your Money
Cash App is a wildly popular and convenient app. Everyone loves the convenience and speed of getting cash, but no one more than scammers and fraudsters. When you send cash via the Cash App, you can’t get your money back. And unlike PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard; if you buy something with your Cash App you […]
3 Nabbed In Massive Credit Repair Mortgage Fraud Scam
A trio is allegedly behind a massive fraud scheme that defrauded mortgage lenders, credit card companies, and the SBA. In what seems to be a nice trend in justice, the trio was arrested in connection with a scheme to file false identity theft claims to clean credit to help consumers buy homes they would not […]
The Story of the Very First Case of Credit Card Fraud
“What in tarnation happened to my credit card?” In 1899, the first use of credit cards emerged in the United States — for transportation companies that allowed passengers to ride private carriages on credit and then pay later. Well, it didn’t take long for a farmer to find out what can happen when someone steals your […]
History of Synthetic Identity – Who Discovered This Fraud?
Just about every week you might read an article on a new type of fraud called “Synthetic Identity”. It’s the hottest and one of the fastest growing types of fraud and it’s got the coolest name of any fraud type out there. But did you realize that Synthetic Identity is hardly new? It’s been […]
Fake Employment Service Can Help Loan Fraudsters
You can buy anything on the internet these days. And that includes everything you need to commit the perfect loan fraud. Whether it is generating a fake social security number at SSN Validator or pretending you are a very rich person by creating fake pay-stubs at Paystub Creator you can be anyone to anybody if […]
Credit Washer Erased Millions In Tradelines With Fraud
Like magic, she made people’s bad credit disappear. But was she a magician or something else? In a recent credit washing case out of Houston, Texas, it definitely was something else. And it may turn out to be one of the largest credit washing cases in history – at least in monetary damages. Over $3.3 […]
Is Credit Repair Fueling the Rise in Synthetic ID Fraud?
Doug wasn’t a very good credit risk. In fact, he defaulted on just about every credit card and loan he ever had. He was about as lousy as paying his bills as anyone out there and his credit score was below 500. But that didn’t stop him from walking into his local car dealership and buying […]
WhitePower Gangs Stole $1M In Forced Refund Fraud Case
More than two dozen people associated with criminal street gangs face a combined 86 years in prison after pleading guilty to a $1-million fraud scheme this last Friday. The street gangs were based in the Bay Area and operated between 2015 and 2018 and were members of the Bully Boys and CoCo Boys street gangs. […]
With Covid over, Fraudsters Finding New Soft Targets
The pandemic unleashed a wave of newbie fraudsters. The fact is government stimulus programs such as PPP, EIDL, and Unemployment prompted the creation of hundreds of thousands of new fraudsters and scammers (if not millions) in the last two years. We created financial pressure where they were desperate. We pushed trillions in stimulus money piles […]
Here Are 3 Qualities All Great Fraud Managers Have
My name is Frank McKenna. I am a fraud consultant here in San Diego California. I have had the chance to work with over 25 banks, lenders, and companies helping them build their fraud prevention strategies. I often get asked to help organizations assess their talent in the fraud group. Banks have a really difficult […]
5 Reasons Working In Anti Fraud Is The Best Job Ever
In 1990, I was fresh out of college working in a dead-end job as a customer service operator for a credit card company. My shift started at 5 am. Every morning at 4 am, I would pull myself out of bed, drive to that job, strap on that dreaded headset, and start answering calls. They […]
10 Fraud Worst Practices And How To Avoid Them
No one is perfect. Mistakes are hard to avoid and they can cost us a lot of money when we make them. But they don’t have to be. What if I told you that I could save you millions and millions of dollars by telling you 10 Mistakes that I see banks make in their fraud […]
Tell Me Which Generation of Fraud Fighter Are You?
In the last 50 years, technology and banking have changed so much. And during that time, fraud morphed and changed dramatically too. And that’s because banking has changed. It’s gotten so much more complex. In the 1970’s you had one option – your checkbook. Banking was boring. And well, fraud tended to be much easier […]
IRS Releases It’s Dirty Dozen Fraud Schemes For 2022
From the IRS, this week is some interesting news. The IRS wrapped up its annual “Dirty Dozen” scams list for the 2022 filing season this week, with a warning to taxpayers to avoid being misled into using bogus tax avoidance strategies. The IRS warned taxpayers to watch out for promoters peddling these schemes. As part […]