SBA Bolstering Fraud Program To Crack Down on Losses
The SBA is making big changes. Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for America’s 32.5 million small businesses in President Biden’s Cabinet, announced an all-hands-on-deck, multi-faceted expansion of efforts to identify and support the SBA Inspector General’s recovery of fraudulently obtained COVID economic relief funds and to prevent potential […]
The Absolute Worst Case of Identity Theft In History
Most people fear having their identity stolen even once, but one woman from New York probably appreciated that fear much more than everyone else. You see, this particular woman had her identity stolen more than 40,000 times; it was such a severe problem that the Social Security Administration had to “void” her number and issue her […]
NBC Report – The Fleecing of America’s PPP Program
This is a very good report from NBC that details the stunning fraud that was the PayCheck Protection Loan Program. What I love about it is how they show data scientists looking for red flags in the background. The PRAC data scientist, Claire Stabile, details one case where they found 1,300 different PPP Loans going […]
Infamous Ghost Excellently Reports On Amazon Fraud
I have highlighted Infamous Ghost’s Youtube channel before. He has a great way of breaking down fraud cases and scams and helps you get to the heart of the matter quickly. I like his no-nonsense approach. Check out this really great video he uploaded that outlines one of the biggest Amazon fraud scams I have […]
California Used Old Card Tech, Now Its A Skimmers Delight
California continues to be a case study in the lack of fraud controls. In 2016, the state turned off their fraud program to save money and it’s been downhill ever since. First, the state reportedly lost $31 billion due to unemployment fraud perpetrated during the pandemic. Then, the state got hit with Disability fraud when […]
35 Lies People Tell on Auto Loan Applications
Lies, lies, lies. I was talking to someone the other day and they asked me a simple question “What is auto lending fraud? Do people actually lie on their auto loan applications?” It doesn’t seem like something that would actually happen very often right? I mean the person has to go to the car dealership […]
Credit Repair Co Accused of Filing Fake Id Theft Reports
The FTC is cracking back at the growing problem of credit washing and people filing false identity theft claims on their website. Today, they obtained an order halting a credit repair scheme that allegedly bilked consumers out of millions of dollars by falsely claiming they will remove negative information from credit reports, while also filing […]
ShapeShifter Used Countless Identities To Defraud Banks
A con artist who is being described as a shapeshifter stole more than $3.5 million dollars from lenders using countless identities in the process. According to the Justice Department, Joseph Albert Corey was a serial fraudster who could just not stop stealing from banks and medical companies even after he was apprehended. He Initially Went […]
Conversations With Fred – A Cupcake Fraudster
I got an interesting text out of the blue from a fella named Fred. Fred wanted a cupcake. How he got my number or why he thought I sell cupcakes, I will never know but it became clear in the end what he really wanted. Be careful out there folks. The cupcake fraudster is still […]
Landmark Study in Auto Lending Fraud – It’s Up 260%
Point Predictive released its 2022 Auto Fraud Trends Report, which details record-high levels of attempted vehicle loan fraud in 2021, a trend that Point Predictive believes will continue to increase throughout 2022. “The pandemic laid the groundwork for rising fraud risk in 2021 as fraudsters learned to use falsified information and identities to benefit from […]
Should Card Fraud Systems Be Used To Detect Terrorism?
In 1995, I had my first experience with fraud and terrorism. I was working for First Deposit Bank as a fraud investigator and the FBI began to call us about one of our customers – Terry Nichols. They were calling all his credit card companies to determine what charges he had recently been making. They […]
New Report – These Are The Fastest Growing Fraud Types
TransUnion has released their latest global report on annual digital fraud trends and by all accounts fraud is way up. The report which you can download here – TransUnion’s 2022 Global Digital Fraud Trends report, indicates that shipping fraud is the fastest growing fraud type globally. Shipping fraud was up 800% in 2021, and a […]
Car Salesman Pulls Elaborate Fraud Scam On 30 People
Ricardo Perez, a former car salesman at Dick Scott Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler in Michigan got fired for fraud by the dealership in 2021. He had worked there for 7 years before he was terminated. But rather than looking for a new job as a car salesman somewhere else he stuck to his life of […]
Massive Instagram “Cash For Checks” Fraud Ring Busted
This week, Pennsylvania Police uncovered a massive fraud ring that was stealing checks, gift cards, and cash out of mailboxes. The report, which appeared in Pennlive, details a case involving over 39 police jurisdictions (some out of state), and possibly up to 90 suspects. The fraud ring is just one of many rings across the […]
Fake PayStubs Are Tripping Up Income Verifications
Everyone wants to pretend they are rich when they are applying for a loan from a bank or lender. And that leads to lots of lies about income on applications for credit. 1 in 5 applications for a loan contains material falsified claims of income. Liar Loans are making a big comeback in our frothy […]