Church Latest Victim of ACH Fraud

Diocese of Des Moines Loses $600,000 to Fraudsters


September 1, 2010 - Linda McGlasson, Managing Editor

Over a weekend in August, the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, fell victim to a $600,000 ACH fraud theft and becomes another in the growing list of businesses and entities that have suffered huge losses as a result of these crimes.


The church says it was victimized by criminals who illegally obtained its banking information in order to transfer funds to numerous "money mule" recipients across the United States on Aug. 13 and 16.

The Diocese is but the latest of many such incidents to have hit the nation's businesses and government entities over the past year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that 205 separate businesses have reported incidents of corporate account take-over since 2004 -- the bulk of them in the past year, with estimated fraud losses topping $40 million.

The increasing trend for criminals attacking mid-level targets is disturbing, but expected, says Chris Roberts, managing director at One World Labs, who has seen similar attacks recently in his investigations. "[The victims] don't have the same level of scrutiny that the major organizations go through, and they are less protected, less aware of the dangers."

To read the entire article, click here: http://www.bankinfosecurity.com/articles.php?art_id=2888&rf=2010-09-04-eb