COVID-19 , Cybercrime , Fraud Management & Cybercrime
How Criminals Are Using PPE as a Money-Laundering Tool
Sizing Up Emerging Fraud Trends During the COVID-19 Crisis
Money launderers are devising new tactics during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, some are coming up with ways to use personal protective equipment, or PPE, as a form of currency, says Debra Geister, CEO of Section 2 Financial Intelligence Solutions.
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Until recently, fraudsters often laundered funds through restaurants, convenience stores and other cash-based businesses, Geister says. “Those are no longer as available and the revenues are greatly reduced in those streams,” she says in a video interview with Information Security Media Group. “We're seeing cryptocurrency becoming a much bigger factor in how these hybrid threat groups launder funds. We're also seeing PPE become kind of a new currency.”
In this interview, Geister also discusses:
- The threats posed by organized criminal syndicates;
- Alternative money-laundering schemes using cryptocurrencies and PPE and how to mitigate the risks;
- The evolution of efforts to fight money laundering during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Geister, CEO of Section 2 Financial Intelligence Solutions, has 15 years of experience with banking compliance issues. Previously, she was the managing director at Matrix-International Financial Services and manager at Navigator Consulting Group. She also spent three years at MetaBank as senior vice president.
