Bank drops: how to identify dangerous vacancies and protect yourself from fraud

Technologies are constantly developing – and not only those that benefit humanity, but also those that drag it down into the abyss of abuse of progressive innovations. There are also new forms of fraud that try to use the achievements of civilization to their advantage. Criminals are getting smarter, their schemes are more complex, and the risks are even more dangerous. One of such threatening manifestations of modern fraud is bank drops, which become a tool in the hands of cybercriminals and can cause irreparable damage not only to individuals, but also to the entire society.
How do bank drops work?
They act through a sequence of coordinated steps:
- Collection of credentials. First, a cybercriminal collects information about an individual to create a bank drop. This can be achieved by stealing or buying a person’s credentials, or by creating a synthetic identity. For legitimacy, they sometimes create a complex ecosystem that includes e-mail, a disposable phone and an IP address to simulate the information environment of a certain person.
- Bank selection. Once the identity is well prepared, the cybercriminal chooses a suitable bank to open an account. The chosen bank usually has weak mechanisms of control over the information about the person.
- Account legitimization. After opening an account, several legitimate transactions are made to give it a “clean” status and avoid suspicion.
- Operation of bank drop. If all goes well, a bank drop is used to obtain money from illegal activity. This is usually combined with money laundering techniques to divert the funds from their source of illicit origin.
- Withdrawal of funds. After the money has been laundered or transferred to other accounts, the criminals cash it out, transfer it to offshore accounts or use it for personal needs. The move is intended to cover the trail and make it more difficult for authorities to link the funds to the initial illegal activity.
Why are bank drops dangerous?
Bank drops not only aid in the laundering of money from criminal activity, but are also the result of other crimes such as impersonation, identity theft or intrusion into information systems. Because bank drops are often used as a conduit for other criminal activities, laundered funds can be used to finance and facilitate illegal operations such as drug trafficking or terrorism.
Given the important role bank drops play in money laundering schemes, they can cause enormous damage and seriously undermine trust in financial institutions. Banks that fail to prevent such malpractices may face heavy fines from regulators and administrative sanctions. There are many such stories. It is known, for example, that Deutsche Bank agreed to pay a $630 million fine for violating US anti-money laundering laws. The bank failed to effectively prevent money laundering schemes through its Russian branch, where about $10 billion was withdrawn through so-called “mirror transactions”.
It’s not just banks that suffer, but victims of identity theft as well, as their data can be used to commit illegal activities. Although these people may not realize that they are participating in criminal activity, their participation makes them complicit. This can lead to serious legal consequences, including criminal charges. They can also face other serious problems, such as the seizure of accounts, financial sanctions or even imprisonment.
Given the serious consequences of bank drops that affect the whole society, comprehensive measures are needed to overcome them. While everyone can play a role in combating this problem – from law enforcement to individuals – financial institutions are key players in the fight against bank drops. As technological advances now allow cybercriminals to automate the creation of bank drops, financial institutions are implementing various measures to reduce this risk.
How to protect against fraud?
Employees are the first line of defense. Their awareness of drops is important to detect such threats. Equally important are the thorough checks of customers, capable of securing the financial environment of banks. Therefore, we are not surprised if their employees ask us for additional information. It is important for them to correctly identify customers. Detecting suspicious transactions is also essential for identifying bank drops. Using algorithms for behavioral analysis, deviation signals and risk assessments – a reliable transaction monitoring system can be a useful tool in the fight against bank drops.
Cyber security measures cannot be discounted either. It’s about strengthening two-factor authentication (2FA) and implementing advanced threat detection tools that can significantly improve financial institutions’ ability to counter bank drops.
The Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries warns citizens not to become scammers, because involvement in such illegal schemes can have serious legal consequences.
KRAIL draws attention to the fact that fraudsters can lure citizens with promises of quick and easy earnings, using them as drops in money laundering schemes or other illegal operations. Therefore, it is important to be cautious and not provide your details or accounts to questionable persons or organizations. There are those who knowingly sell their credentials and access, and those who operate under the influence of deception and social engineering.
Free cheese can only be found in the mousetrap
Scammers use social media or online forums to search dropped. For example, through “easy money” or “work from home” ads, drops may be involved in fraudulent schemes that involve the use of their bank accounts or personal data for illegal purposes.
In the risk zone are students, the unemployed, immigrants and representatives of economically and socially vulnerable groups. These categories of citizens often become targets of fraudsters who try to attract them to schemes, promising easy earnings without the need for special skills or significant time.
One such case happened in Zhytomyr: a couple temporarily sold access to their bank cards to strangers. Received 2,000 hryvnias for such a lease. Instead, the attackers issued a loan on their cards for a total of 35,000 hryvnias.
How to distinguish an offer to become a drop from other job offers?
- The job description states that it is necessary to transfer money.
- Specific professional requirements for the candidate are not described, there is no list of his duties, except for transferring money.
- There are no requirements regarding the candidate’s education and previous work experience.
- The work involves only online interaction with the employer (no personal communication);
- The job offer seems very attractive: you make small efforts – you get big earnings. For example, it can be about the opportunity to earn 10 thousand hryvnias per month, spending only 10 minutes a day.
We must understand that the drop is the “lowest” link in the criminal network, which the law enforcement officers go to first, and remember that the free cheese is only in the mousetrap. No matter what the reasons were for choosing drop work, the punishment will still come. Ignorance of laws, as you know, does not exempt from responsibility.