As if the negative repercussions of the global financial crisis weren't enough, now savers have something new to worry about: Scams targeting bank accounts are on the rise.
One of the newest frauds involves recruiting unsuspecting job seekers to help launder money. Those hired become "mules" -- people who never know they're collaborating with fraudsters, says Uri Rivner, who heads new anti-fraud technology for RSA, the security division of data storage company EMC in Hopkinton, Mass.
The job postings seem legitimate; often the scammers have professional-looking corporate Web sites. The jobs may involve sending money out of the country through an international wire agent. Or reshipping computers and other merchandise, perhaps purchased originally with a stolen credit card.
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According to Rivner, when victims at one jobs Web site clicked on the "careers" tab, they were invited to apply for a job as a regional manager in the U.S. responsible for shipping merchandise. The offer by the company, promising a great salary for little work, involved repackaging and shipping merchandise, supposedly obtained from an e-commerce Web site overseas.
More than 1,900 job-hungry Americans applied. Of those, 33 were hired as unwitting mules. After a few weeks, some became victims of identity theft because they had provided personal information, including Social Security numbers, on the fake job application. Those stolen identities were used to commit check fraud and other financial crimes.
Not-so-funny video
Another hot scam: Fraudsters gain access to the names of your friends on social networking sites, such as MySpace.com, and invite you to click on a hyperlink to view a funny video. Victims figure they know the sender, so they click to watch. Then their screen freezes, and they get a message telling them their video player needs upgrading.Click to upgrade, however, and you have just accepted a Trojan horse, which follows your movements online. Through it, scammers can capture personal information, including credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and even online check photographs when you conduct business online.
"Trojans (are) distributed on a massive scale," Rivner says.
Video on MSN Money
How dangerous is online banking?A victim of identity theft through online banking describes her experiences. It all started with a very convincing e-mail.
Identity theft is up
Other illegal banking activities also are increasing. Identity theft increased 22% to nearly 10 million victims in 2008, according to Javelin Strategy & Research, a research firm in Pleasanton, Calif. And the Federal Trade Commission clocked 313,982 identity-theft complaints, up from 215,000 in 2003.Meanwhile, more than 5 million U.S. consumers lost money to "phishing" attacks in the year ending September 2008, a 40% increase over the number of victims a year earlier, according to research firm Gartner in Stamford, Conn.
Even bank robberies, burglaries and thefts are rising, with 1,645 occurring in the last quarter of 2008, according to the FBI. The upward trend has continued into 2009.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a federal agency established to safeguard the financial system, says banks have become better at tracking suspected mortgage fraud through mandated recordkeeping. Plus, law enforcement agencies are cooperating more to catch these crooks.
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