One Step Ahead

Law enforcement and security professionals are constantly on the back foot trying to keep ahead of organised crime. Reading the latest reports on fraud and internet crime you can paint a bleak picture of a rapidly evolving landscape in which the criminals are disappearing into the horizon leaving the faintest of foot prints for investigators to follow.

The 2009 Internet Crime Report from the US Internet Crime Complaint Centre (IC3) showed an enormous increase in online crime from 2008, a leap of 22.3%. The total cost of online fraud in 2009 nearly doubled to $559.7 million dollars up from $265 million reported in 2008. The fraudulent use of the FBI’s name was the most prevalent of advanced fee scams while non-delivery of merchandise and / or payment was the second most reported offense.  Malicious code, phishing and Trojans are also increasing at an alarming rate along with less sophisticated measures such as eavesdropping, guessing, “dumpster-diving” and shoulder surfing at ATMs. The general trend has been toward higher volume and lower value attacks. Nearly 5 million US consumers lost money in phishing attacks from September 2007 – 2008 a 39.8% increase on the year before (Verizon Business Risk Team Data Breach Investigations Report 2009).

Meanwhile criminals are finding increasingly sophisticated ways of laundering their ill gotten gains with mobile phones, pre-paid cards and virtual worlds. Stored value cards are the latest threat and enable large amounts of money to be transferred without reporting thresholds or details being retained.  A Colombian drug cartel moved $4 million dollars in this way before an investigator stumbled upon the activity.

The challenge for anti-money laundering professionals is keeping ahead of the game. Sign up to as many information sources as you can, liaise with your peers and keep on top of emerging issues.

• Show All Hot Topics

Member Comments

Sign in or join the community and be the first to leave a comment!