What Is Financial Crime And How It Can Affect You?

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Most business owners and consumers are extremely protective of their money. In this day and age, you have to be mindful of the tactics being used by criminals to gain access to money that they don’t own. Financial crime is a very real threat. It seems like with each passing year, the number of businesses and consumers being affected by financial crime grows.

Every year, billions of dollars are stolen by criminals using financial crime strategies. It is your responsibility to educate yourself about financial crime and how to avoid becoming a victim. Read below for more information about financial crime.

What is Financial Crime?

For the most part, financial crime is a term used to describe any crime that involves the stealing of financial assets. The individuals who commit this type of crime use a variety of different tactics to secure money from unsuspecting individuals and businesses.

Financial crimes generally fall into the following categories.

·        Terrorist Financing- Since the tragedy on September 11th, the USA Patriot Act has outlawed the funding of terrorism in any form. Financial crimes that are connected to any terrorist activity are considered to be quite severe under this act.

·        Financial Fraud- When a criminal acquires financial assets unethically, it is referred to as financial fraud. This fraud can include everything from creating false financial statements to any misrepresentation in a financial setting.

·        Identity Theft- If a criminal pretends to be someone else for financial benefit, they are said to be committing identity theft. Identity theft involves criminals gaining access to protected financial information via a scam.

·        Money Laundering- Laundering money involves taking money that has been acquired illegally and reporting it as income generated by a legitimate business. Being convicted of money laundering can result in a lengthy prison sentence for a criminal.

Businesses usually work together with NICE Actimize to help avoid falling victim to the financial crimes mentioned above. By utilizing the power of technology, businesses are able to protect their assets and avoid falling victim to financial scams.

Common Methods Used By Criminals To Steal Money

Now that you know more about what a financial crime is, you need to learn about the methods used to commit these crimes. The methods used by criminals to steal money from both consumers and businesses grow more sophisticated with each passing year.

Phishing scams are one of the most popular tools used to commit financial crimes. These scams usually start with an email from a seemingly reputable source. This email will feature a link that the recipient will be instructed to click. Once this mistake is made, a hacker can gain access to a person’s device and all of the sensitive financial data it contains.

Hackers also use fake mobile banking apps to trick consumers and business owners. These apps look almost identical to an actual banking app. However, the purpose of the fake mobile app is to steal sensitive financial information.

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Protecting Yourself from Financial Crimes

There are a number of things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of financial crime. If you want to keep your money out of the hands of criminals, then you need to consider doing things like:

·        Check your credit report frequently

·        Be careful when shopping online

·        Change your passwords regularly

·        Review financial accounts daily

·        Properly dispose of documents containing sensitive financial information

By taking these precautions, you can keep your financial accounts safe.

As you can see, the threat of financial crime is extremely real. Using the information in this article can help you protect your money from tech-savvy criminals.