Two special agents will discuss recent financial crimes trends. The organized retail crime (ORC) presentation will explore ORC from ahistorical perspective using a current law enforcement case. The discussion will include the length of the conspiracy, how costly these crimes are for retailers, their geographic reach, the number of retailers affected, and the length of time it takes to bring these criminals to justice. This case illustrates that partnerships are just as important in pursuing ORC cases as they are in AML and other financial crimes cases. Well-designed partnerships are required to effectively dismantle ORC conspiracies.

The second presentation will discuss how the Internet is an essential means to commit cybercrimes by enabling criminals to remain anonymous, elude law enforcement and/or to conceal financial transactions, ownership of assets or other evidence. What are the cyber criminals’ priorities? We will venture into the dark web and discuss Tor and how it works. Virtual currency and cryptocurrency will also be discussed. IRS-CI cybercrime highlights include over 15 successful cases, several of which will be discussed at a high level. The use of crypto kiosks will also be discussed –their use is on the rise, but are they subject to Bank Secrecy Act regulations? Like other financial products there are “red flags,” so what are the fraud indicators related to crypto kiosks?