News & Resources

Insider fraudulently claims nearly $200,000 in employee checks

Jan 28, 2012 Karen Umpierre

Insider fraudulently claims nearly $200,000 in employee checks
As an employee for a financial institution, you may already know that when it comes to a fiscal scheme, many times it's the person you least suspect, which often means an insider.
 According to the Ponemon Institute, approximately 75 percent of companies surveyed indicated suspicious activity among internal IT users. Although many organizations maintain high levels of security to reduce the risk of outsiders hacking into networks, insiders have the access necessary to financially cripple a company. Don Kelley, 44 years-old and former human resources manager for Trident Seafoods, faces three counts of first-degree theft and three counts of first-degree identity theft, The Seattle Times reports. Based on the report, Kelley accrued nearly $200,000 from temporary coworkers by channeling their checks into his bank account. From 2008 to 2011, Kelley had control of the entire employee database, which included access to payroll and bank details. As a financial institution employee, you should investigate a consumer's credit and bank history, while noting and their overall savings. If a consumer has had a relatively slow growth in savings for a long period of time and then rapidly increases their rate of savings, this may be a sign of financial fraud.