AFS Fraud Insights: Massive Treasury Check Fraud Avoided

Attempted $410,000 Treasury check deposit stopped at credit union

An individual using false identity documents opened accounts and tried to deposit a stolen Treasury check. The attempt hinged on quick onboarding and immediate access to funds.

• Apply extended holds and payee-match on high-value government checks.
• Validate IDs against trusted data sources.
• Re-verify profiles after address or contact changes.
• Solution fit: TrueChecks is one of the only fraud prevention solutions that integrates directly with the TCVS. Stop treasury check fraud in real-time.

Source: NJ.com and the Fed

Money mule networks surge across FIs

Analysis shows organized mule activity rising, moving proceeds from check theft, account takeover, and scams through banks and credit unions. New accounts and first-time payments are common vectors.

• Build mule detection with multi-account velocity and shared device or IP signals.
• Enforce callbacks for new or changed ACH and wire recipients over set thresholds.
• Monitor early charge-off patterns on new accounts.

Source: Bank Info Security

SECU reconciliation exploit nets $473,000

Charging documents describe suspects moving funds across member accounts around nightly reconciliation, then withdrawing before balances settled. Weak overrides and after-hours movements were key.

• Lock down reconciliation timing and exception overrides.
• Require dual approval for after-hours adjustments.
• Alert on cross-account sweeps or balance spikes near close.
• Solution fit: TrueACH validates accounts and prepares FIs for changing Nacha rules.

Source: Justice.gov