Legal issues and news

The data analytics provider has deployed cloud hosting to scour international payments for signs of fraud and money laundering.

Financial institutions spent nearly $214 billion last year — an 18% jump from 2019 — to meet regulatory requirements for fighting financial crimes, a new study says. The spending included more staffing to manage risks posed by customer growth.

Prosecutors say Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards leaked over 50,000 documents, including 2,000 suspicious activity reports, related to payments involving former President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chairman.

Scams in which a real person’s information is used to create fictitious businesses or individuals have led to $6 billion in credit losses. The Federal Reserve has developed a standard definition for synthetic identity fraud so lenders can distinguish it from traditional identity theft.

Bank of America was ordered by a judge to change its practices after thousands of unemployed California customers receiving public benefits complained that when their prepaid debit cards were hacked, the bank made matters worse by treating them like criminals.

The card network is connecting its Enhanced Authorization system with products from Accertify, Microsoft and Riskified, providing Amex with more data at the time of the transaction.

A New York court ordered the freezing of $560 million in assets held by entities controlled by Renren CEO Joseph Chen, Softbank Group and others, an amount pegged to a stake in the personal finance startup Social Finance, which is slated for a blank-check merger this week.

The companies are working to thwart abuse on the Honey platform, a deal-finding system that PayPal acquired in 2019.

As both e-commerce and payment fraud accelerate, Sift is strengthening its digital protection platform by acquiring Chargeback, a real-time dispute management provider.

Cryptojacking is a particularly dangerous attack, but there are ways to fight back, Marc Laliberte of WatchGuard writes.

The digital migration caused new risks, and new responsibilities for security professionals.

Fake fundraising or phony customer service tricks people into handing over money or account details, Yinglian Xie of Datavisor writes.

As contactless payments skyrocket, the chance for fraud gets larger, says ClearSales's Rafael Lourenco.

DMB Financial, a debt-settlement firm near Boston that operates in 24 states, agreed to pay $5.4 million in restitution to consumers for allegedly charging upfront fees before providing any service, the CFPB said.

The purchase is one of several moves the payment company has made to improve its identity expertise.

The reduction in debt during the first quarter was the second largest on record, according to a new report by the New York Fed. Government stimulus payments and continuing limitations on travel and entertainment spending are key factors.

Collectors are mulling a procedural overhaul after a three-judge panel said the practice of using vendors to inform consumers about outstanding debts is illegal. The case may also complicate the CFPB's upcoming rule on electronic messaging.

The San Francisco-based technology provider raised $70 million in a Series C round this week, bringing its total funding to $114 million.

The risk is growing that criminals or hostile nations could use quantum computing to hack into the ledger systems that control bitcoin and other digital currencies.

While the eventual emergence from lockdown will help ease the pressure on overworked compliance departments, there is still an obvious need for tools that will make the anti-money laundering process simpler and stress-free, says SmartSearch's Martin Cheek.