Bank Takeovers - Now Acquiring New Fraudsters
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The chance to pick up bank assets for pennies on the dollar is no doubt an appealing proposition for those banks with strong balance sheets. However, I can see loss prevention professionals breaking out in a cold sweat when they consider the new systems, the unknown (newly acquired) customer base, and the additional internal accounts and personnel that now must be monitored.
What kinds of fraudsters are most likely to take advantage of a merger and acquisition?
- Internal fraud has the perfect cover in an acquisition. New personnel are often brought in and systems are converted. What's more, at the bank being acquired employee morale is often low, leading to a higher likelihood of an adverse event. Don't believe me? This topic has been getting a lot of coverage lately on BankInfoSecurity.
- First party fraudsters looking to set up accounts to pass invalid items are having a field day. Customer churn provides just the right cover they need to open the new accounts and then wait 30 days, 60 days, maybe longer before committing fraud.
- Mergers and acquisitions offer fraudsters the perfect environment to take advantage of employee confusion. They know that the acquired bank's employees have to learn all new systems, forms, products and policies. There is usually an emphasis on customer service as well, so it is the perfect opportunity for them to commit fraud during turbulent times such as this.
Acquiring banks need to have a plan for dealing with the inevitable challenges of a merger and must have systems capable of quickly bringing together disparate data from across different departments- even different companies. They need to have the ability to perform the due diligence necessary to identify risky accounts and apply monitoring strength where it's needed most. They also need to be able to identify the few bad apples among their expanded employee base. Anyone else concerned that the red carpet is out for fraudsters?