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#262978 by NetDiver Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:14 am
Hey all.

I work as a fraud investigator for a large national bank's customer service department and we occasionally receive messages from mods at this site through our social media presence, informing us that certain accounts have been reported as being used to commit fraud. I thought it was a pretty interesting concept and a good idea for a website, sort of vigilante justice against one of the most rampant forms of crime out there. So far we haven't been alerted to anything we weren't already aware of/hadn't shut down yet, but it's still an admirable thing to do.

Ultimately, while banks (good ones, at least, certainly the one I work for) want to protect consumers as best they can, with millions of customers and tens of millions of transactions per day, there's only so much they can stop. Frequently scam victims, for example those who have cashed a counterfeit cashier's check and wired money before the check bounced, or who've been recruited as unwitting money mules to forward on fraudulent ACH/wire deposits, try to divert blame on to the bank in some way or another. They'll say the teller should have recognized the counterfeit check and not accepted the deposit, or the bank shouldn't have released funds before the check cleared. For one thing, Federal Regulation CC requires banks to follow certain timelines for funds availability, which makes it impossible to fully verify every check before releasing funds. And long-time customers, especially those who've never had an overdraft and keep a steady balance, expect immediate availability as a perk for their loyalty.

In the end, despite their complaints, most scam victims are left footing the bill for the negative balance, because the bank cannot be expected to take a loss to reimburse everyone who falls for the same tricks that have been going around since the internet was first spawned (and in some cases earlier). The account agreement states that the customer is responsible for all items deposited into his or her account, and is responsible for maintaining reasonable safeguard over his or her own sensitive account information (i.e. acct # or PIN).

Given this, there's nothing more important than education and prevention in fighting the harm caused by fraud. Once the hook has been taken and the funds have been sent via WU or MoneyGram, it's too late and that money's not coming back. So while I won't be able to offer any specific insight into banking or investigative procedure, I definitely want to contribute general info I come across in the course of work, about various scams and frauds commonly going around and what you can do to avoid them.
Last edited by NetDiver on Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:30 am, edited 3 times in total.
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#262999 by HillBilly Fri Aug 07, 2015 7:44 am
welcome, NetDiver. We generally point potential / victims to view this thread : viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3237 and / or this one : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=44 depending on the fake check situation.

But you have added a different slant on the wording and some may find your point of view a lot easier to understand.

Feel free to ask questions, and roam around the site. Take a peek at the FAQ's to see if there are answers there.
faq.php And feel free to add your 2 cents in on the threads you think you can add into.

#263030 by TerranceBoyce Fri Aug 07, 2015 6:42 pm
One point I would take issue with you on NetDiver.

I am not part of any 'vigilante' group, which has connotations of being part of a 'knuckle dragging' rabble operating outside the law, which is not the case.

Having spent my whole working life in banking with a wide experience of international trade transactions, payment systems and property transfers it means that I have a knowledge and insight the equal of most, and many people here have other knowledge and experience in other areas that can be pooled to provide a sophisticated knowledge of scammers and the frauds they engage in.

CAR ADVERTS - If a car seller mentions escrow - he's scamming you Never ever for any reason pay anything until you have seen and inspected the vehicle
#263059 by vonpaso xlura Sat Aug 08, 2015 6:56 am
Welcome to Scamwarners!

It does happen sometimes that one of us reports a bank account belonging to someone who has been recruited as a money mule before any fraudulent money is actually sent to the account.

... ni los estafadores heredarán el reino de Dios. 1 Cor. 6:10
#263165 by NetDiver Sun Aug 09, 2015 12:34 pm
Hi Terrance, a little bit of clarification, by "vigilante justice" I meant more the scam-baiting sport rather than the warnings. That I just view as a free/helpful service for banks, though as I said, in our case we've only ever gotten messages about accounts that have already been investigated/shut down.

Not that it's a bad thing. I fully support scam-baiting and any effort which forces them to divert their resources from actual victims. In the course of work I sometimes use similar tactics to scam baiting to gain information, but I'd be a bit hesitant to elaborate on exactly how because this is a public forum and I'm not sure who might read this.
#263167 by Terminator5 Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:04 pm
Scambaiting is also a form of Investigation . Many times new fraud websites or phone numbers that are not listed can be obtained . Thanks for visiting scamwarners .

Daniel 8 :25

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