Happy Fraud-i-Days!
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With names like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it's no wonder thieves and fraudsters love this time of year. The magic time between Thanksgiving and the New Year when it seems like everyone turns into an uber consumer and the opportunity for fraud spikes. Part of the reason fraud spikes is simple math. If x% of total money spent is fraudulent it is common sense that fraud would increase in the holiday season. After all, the National Retail Federation estimates that $437.6 Billion will be spent on gifts this year. That's a lot of cash, cards and checks changing hands. BREAK Just look online and you will find a wide array of seasonal fraud notices. From a video on fraud prevention by Regional Federal Credit Union to Job postings for Seasonal Fraud Analysts. Not to be outdone, larger institutions such as Wells Fargo, Unisys and State Farm add their own seasonal fraud advisories.
SAR data from the holiday months is also revealing and tells us that activity picks up considerably during this timeperiod. Because SAR filing usually lags suspicious activity by 30-60 days, I chose to compare November filings with March filings of the next year.You can see data listed from 1997 to 2008, with the average increase a whopping 23%!
Conversations with fraud management professionals further cement that everyone is feeling merry this time of year, including fraudsters. The exception? Loss prevention. One former manager I talked to said his bank would look to hire more analysts leading up to year end, knowing that additional resources would be needed. He said everything went up during the holidays: Fraud, SAR Filings, you name it. Another added that online fraud increased considerably as consumers shifted their shopping habits to e-commerce retailers.
Here's hoping your institution has the resources in place to handle the increased load this holiday season. There is no better present than catching fraud!