|
|
 |
|
| Visions & Revisions |
It Takes a Thief
Marianne Cotter
12/01/2003
|
Security consultant Frank Abagnale has an insider’s perspective on fraud, forgery, and identity theft. Between the ages of 16 and 21, he wrote $2.5 million in bad checks while cloaked in multiple identities. He ended up in prison, but was granted early release to help the FBI fight white-collar crime. In 1980 at age 28 he published his autobiography, "Catch Me if You Can," which was the basis of a 2002 motion picture with the same name. A leading expert on document fraud, Abagnale lends his expertise to numerous clients, including governments, law enforcement agencies, and some of the world’s largest corporations.
 Electronic transactions have obviated most concerns over conventional check fraud.
Absolutely not. Every form of payment—be it paper, plastic, electronic, or otherwise—has risk. Electronic transactions make it easier to move large amounts of money around and out of the country, well beyond the reach of law enforcement and the possibility of recovery. There is no foolproof system for making payments or sending money electronically. For example, many companies use automated wire transfer technology supplied by their bank to wire money. If a hacker gets into a company’s computer system and obtains user names and passwords, he can easily wire transfer all the money in a customer’s bank account to an account in Argentina or Nigeria. It is physically harder to track electronic transactions than paper transactions because a check leaves a visible audit trail. If you believe you have a foolproof system, you have failed to consider the creativity of fools.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
