Fraudulent International Wires on the Rise

Wire processors are seeing increased fraudulent activity on international wires as well as domestic.  Since the beginning of 2010, our international wire transfer vendor has seen four fraudulent, large-dollar wires sent to Japan, South Korea and Cyprus, originated from 4 different credit unions in different parts of the United States.  In 2 of the instances, scam artists moved money from a member's home equity line of credit to a checking account via the credit union's online banking application before wiring the funds out of the country.

Wires processed online through Kansas Corporate require dual verficiation and other security settings are available on our online platforms that help reduce the risks of transacting business online.  As a reminder, make sure you are being vigilant in identifying wire remitters and continue to be on the lookout for warning signs of fraudulent activity in every area of your daily operations.

The U.S. government's central Web site for information about identity theft and identity fraud prevention resources is www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft//.

For more information please contact Tonya Johnston, Operations Manager, at 800.721.2677 Ext. 113 or email tonyaj@kansascorporate.org.