[privacy] FW: What Is "Structuring" and How Do Banks Detect It?

[Richard M. Smith]

I used trick #1 to pay my daughter's college tuition via a debit card.  My
bank limits me to $1,000 maximum for  an single online transaction.  So I
end having to do multiple transactions to get her tuition paid.  The total
payments are under $10,000, so I don't think I'm raising any red flags.
However the payments are going to Canada which might make a difference.

 

Richard

 

From: Larry Seltzer [mailto:Larry at larryseltzer.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 4:24 PM
To: privacy at whitestar.linuxbox.org
Subject: [privacy] FW: What Is "Structuring" and How Do Banks Detect It?

 

Just another pitch I got today

Larry Seltzer
eWEEK.com Security Center Editor
http://security.eweek.com/
http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/
<http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/Contributing> 
Contributing Editor, PC Magazine
larry.seltzer at ziffdavisenterprise.com 

  _____  

From: Temin and Company [mailto:news at Teminandco.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 4:18 PM
To: Temin and Company
Subject: What Is "Structuring" and How Do Banks Detect It?

Fortent has been getting numerous calls asking for an explanation of
"structuring" and how banks detect it. Following is a primer on the form of
money laundering called "structuring." If you would like more information
about this, or to speak with Fortent experts, please contact Suzanne Oaks or
Davia Temin of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or
<mailto:news at teminandco.com> news at teminandco.com. 

 

 

A Primer on "Structuring" as a Form of Money Laundering 




NEW YORK - March 12, 2008 - A commonly-used form of money laundering called
"structuring" has recently emerged in the news. 

 

Dr. Michael Recce, Chief Scientist at Fortent, the risk and compliance
technology and information company, explains: "Structuring is a favorite
method used by money launderers to attempt to avoid detection. 

 

"Due to the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act regulations, banks are
required to report customer transactions of $10,000 or more to federal
authorities. So in order to get around these requirements, an individual
could 'structure' or divide payments into a set of transactions where each
individual transaction is below this $10,000 threshold. This maneuver
increases the chances that the individual would fly under the radar of
banks' compliance departments.

 

"Divided transactions raise suspicion levels, and banks have systems in
place to detect just this sort of criminal behavior."

 

Common signs of structuring, says Dr. Recce, include:


1. Movement of cash in multiple transactions under $10,000 - "Obviously, not
every transaction of under $10,000 is suspect, but if banks see a pattern of
cash movement to the same account when it doesn't seem to make sense, this
raises red flags."

 

2. Attempts to take the sender's name off wire transfers - "If you have
nothing to hide, why would you try to conceal your transactions?"

 

3. Large cash deposits made to ATMs - "Most people deposit checks, not cash,
into ATMs, so banks' systems tend to raise red flags for these types of
transactions."

"To detect structuring," says Dr. Recce, "anti-money laundering systems,
such as Fortent's, look for situations in which multiple transactions of
slightly under $10,000 are performed within short periods of time, possibly
at multiple branches or locations of a bank."

 

 

About Fortent

Fortent provides risk and compliance solutions to financial institutions,
government agencies, and individuals in more than 100 countries. With
advanced systems endorsed by the American Bankers Association, Fortent's
market-leading technology, information, and training businesses help clients
fight financial crime and achieve regulatory compliance throughout their
global operations.

 

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