Fraud Beyond Dollars: The Societal Impact of Money Mules with Karen Boyer

Banking on Fraudology

Banking on Fraudology is presented by Unit21.

Unit21’s Risk and Compliance Infrastructure empowers your team to proactively combat financial crime and make informed decisions throughout the customer lifecycle. Configurable to your organization’s unique risk profile, Unit21 unifies data silos into a comprehensive, end-to-end solution that helps reduce the impact of financial crime on your organization and your customers.

Learn more about our sponsor, Unit21:

- See Unit21 in action https://www.unit21.ai/podcast

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- Watch Unit21 Virtual Summit Hailey session replay https://hubs.li/Q02LbZmC0

Welcome to Banking on Fraudology! Today, we're diving deep into the world of financial crime with our guest, Karen Boyer, a banking veteran with 24 years of experience, including 17 focused on fraud prevention and mitigation at M and T Bank. In this episode, Karen and our host, Hailey Windham, explore the complex challenges banks face in detecting fraudulent activities and understanding the intent behind accounts.

We'll discuss the growing problem of money mules and the significant impact they have on both society and the economy, often funding organized crime in non-friendly nations. Karen shares her insights on the need for collaboration between banks, telecoms, social media platforms, and regulatory bodies to tackle these issues effectively.

Hailey and Karen will examine the shift from traditional Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance to proactive fraud prevention at the point of money movement. They emphasize the importance of real-time transaction monitoring, the crucial role of fraud and BSA team partnerships, and the ongoing challenges law enforcement faces in understanding and addressing banking fraud.

Also, we'll talk about the liability shift that could hold financial institutions more accountable for fraudulent activities passing through their systems and the increased resource allocation post-Covid to combat these crimes. Karen predicts the future landscape of financial fraud, highlighting emerging threats like generative AI and deep fake technology, as well as the rise of synthetic identities in the fraud world.

Join us for a candid conversation that underscores the critical need for industry-wide awareness and collaboration to prevent, detect, and mitigate fraud. Don’t forget to subscribe to "Banking on Fraudology" to stay updated on the latest episodes filled with expert insights and strategies for navigating the evolving landscape of financial fraud.

About Hailey Windham:

As a 2023 CU Rockstar Recipient, Hailey Windham, CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) demonstrated unbounding passion for educating her community, organization and credit union membership on scams in the market and best practices to avoid them. She has implemented several programs within her previous organizations that aim at holistically learning about how to prevent and detect fraud targeted at membership and employees.

Windham’s initiatives to build strong relationships and partnerships throughout the credit union community and industry experts have led to countless success stories. Her applied knowledge of payments system programs combined with her experience in fraud investigations offers practical concepts that are transferable, no matter the organization’s size.

Connect with Hailey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hailey-windham/

Banking on Fraudology is part of the Fraudology Podcast Network.