Auto Lending Fraud Loss Trends

Auto lending fraud has been getting more attention recently as losses begin to mount for some lenders.  As losses mount, lenders are beginning to look beyond credit risk strategies into fraud strategies which can target high-risk losses such as early payment default which can be caused by misrepresentation on the original application. Known Fraud and […]

Wire Fraud is Surging in US and Now Over $20 Billion

Wire Fraud is the largest and single most damaging financial fraud in the US today. And according to the FBI’s latest reports, business related email losses are accelerating due to Business Email Compromise – the scourge of fraud prevention managers everywhere. Reports of wire fraud to the FBI and local law enforcement agencies has doubled […]

Facebook is Putting 33% of British At Risk of Fraud

New research by  Equifax has found that 33% of people in the UK put their full name and date of birth on their social media profile page, and fraudsters are able to use that information to connect that information to the address. And why is this important?  Well, to put it simply, you only need […]

Todd Wolf Investigator Shines Spotlight on Fraud

Todd Wolf is a nationally recognized Vehicle Theft Fraud Investigator who spent 23 years with the CHP and close to 10 years of that investigating vehicle theft in one of the highest risk fraud regions in the world – Los Angeles. As a fraud investigator for 10 years, he’s seen it all and what he see’s […]

What The Swift Response to Fraud Tools Can Teach Us

I read some good news this week. Swift announced the launch of a new payment screening service that will help small banks defend against fraud attempts on their network.  The service will place a red alert flag on Swift payment messages that contain signals of fraud and out of pattern behavior. The massive $1 Billion fraud […]

Uber Accused of Fraud Against Drivers & Passengers

Uber has always been a company that walks on the bleeding edge of questionable ethics.  A new lawsuit filed against the company this week accusing them of defrauding both drivers and passengers is yet another blow to the troubled transportation network. The lawsuit which was filed by Sophanos Van and 50 others accuses Uber of deliberately manipulating […]

Cyber Mortgage Fraud Soars Down Under

There’s a new fraud emerging – Cyber Mortgage Fraud – where a new breed of sophisticated fraudsters are manipulating authentic digital applications to defraud unsuspecting lenders. The fraud is on the rise, tracking close to $1 Billion a year according to Connective, a leading mortgage service provider in Australia.  Paul Palmer, Head of Compliance for connective […]

Industry Strike Force To Obliterate Robo Call Fraud

Annoying debt collectors and scammy IRS impersonators may soon be in for a big surprise when their robot initiated calls end up in a big black hole. An industry task force, headed by AT&T, plans to eliminate Fraudulent Robo Calls by working together to block those fraud and scam calls right at the source. Over […]

Auto Lending Fraud Infographic

I created this handy little Auto Loan Fraud Infographic to explain how auto lending fraud works and why criminals are so interested in it. Why do fraudsters love committing fraud?  Because not only can they get the car for free, they can ship it to Asia and sell it 3 or 4 times the value […]

How Facebook Is Spawning a New Wave of CatFish ID Fraud

Are you afraid of identity theft?  I am.  And I am not alone.  About 1 in 5 American’s have already been a victim and it ranks as one of the Top 10 fears in nationwide polls. Thanks to Facebook, there is a new type of identity theft emerging that is far more damaging to you far […]

Imposter Fraud Is Blowing Up But I Found A Silver Bullet

The latest reports are in for 2016 and Imposter Fraud is blowing up.  Last year, Imposter Fraud was ranked as the most common type of fraud reported by consumers, outstripping Identity Theft of the title that it held for many years. There were 407,000 consumer complaints for imposter fraud in 2016, making it the largest type […]

The IRS Thinks Tax Return Fraud is Tiny. They’re Wrong.

The IRS thinks their issue with fraudulent tax returns is so small that they do not need to do anything differently than they do today to protect consumers. At least that is how they responded to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) yesterday in response THIS REPORT that urged them to take better care to prevent […]

Car Dealers Beware of Auto Loan Fraud

Auto Loan Fraud is a big problem here in the US and growing.  Annual estimates are that approximately $6 Billion in car sales are made and financed with a loan containing some fraud on the application. That is a big number.  And lenders are looking for any ways that they can reduce that fraud. Many […]

Canada is Close to Wiping Out Skimming Fraud

While American’s are getting hit with more card fraud than ever, it appears that our friendly neighbors in Canada figured out what to do about it a long time ago.  It appears that when Canadians decided to put Chip’s on their cards way back in 2008, they had the right idea because it has worked […]

5 Reasons Machine Learning Won’t Eliminate Fraud Analyst

Computing power is doubling every two years.  As computers become increasingly powerful, we are finally able to capitalize on the enormous power of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Self-driving cars,  stores without cashiers where you simply walk out with your merchandise and have your card charged automatically, the ability to ask SIRI anything and get an immediate and […]

11 Companies That Teach Machines To Detect Fraud

Machine Learning for fraud is big business.   Particularly here in San Diego where companies like HNC Software pioneered the use of it over 20 years ago to solve the problem of credit card fraud when there were few fraud detection solutions available.  Since HNC, many other companies have sprouted up using machine learning to […]

3 Recent Reports That Have Fraud Experts Puzzled

There are 3 recent fraud reports that have left fraud experts scratching their heads and wondering if everything they know about fraud is wrong. Fraud is a cat and mouse game and experts that have been in the industry long enough know that fraudsters move quickly to the weakest link in the chain.  They like […]

PinDrop Reports Big Increase in Phone Fraud

Social engineering is on the rise because fraudsters have found the weakest link in the security chain – the call center operator. According to the 2016 Call Center Fraud Report, fraudulent calls spiked 45%  in the last 3 years and now 1 in every 2000 calls into call centers is by a fraudster trying to […]

NACHA Reports Zero Increase in Fraud with Same Day ACH

Nacha is reporting that there has been zero increase in fraud after the much-feared launch of Same Day ACH in September of last year. The report comes after Nacha survey 23 financial institutions about their experience with Same Day ACH.  100% of those banks reported no increase in fraud.   And it’s not for lack of […]