FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) released its latest SAR Activity Review – By the Numbers report last week. Retailers offering financial services should be alert, as FinCEN says 27% of forms filed in the first six months of 2009 can be attributed to suspected fraud-related activities (check fraud, mortgage loan fraud, consumer loan fraud, wire transfer fraud, commercial loan fraud, credit card fraud and debit card fraud).
Reported SAR Activity 2009
Reported instances of Check Fraud increased 19% in the first six months of 2009, compared to the corresponding six-month reporting period in 2008. Two other check-related suspicious activities not depicted in the table also saw change during this period – SARs listing Counterfeit Check increased 36%, while Check Kiting decreased 13%.
Money Service Business (MSB) filings for SARs increased 7% in first half of 2009 (compared to same period in 2008). Some things that stand out:
- MSBs characterizing the suspicious activity as “Same individual(s) using multiple locations over a short time period” increased 25%
- Money transfers and money orders continue to be leading types of financial service related to suspicious activity. Reports on money transfers increased 16%, compared to reports filed during the same period in 2008. At the same time, reports on money order activity decreased 12%.
Download the full report from FinCEN.
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