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Comment by maunaloa | Hacker News Reader

Can someone explain how this money just disappears? It’s not like financial aid is disbursed via Monero. Wouldn’t these payments go through a bank via either wire transfer or a check? Seems like there should be a lot of potential threads to follow back to the perpetrators.

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Crime like this runs deep and politicians and officials don't seem too keen on stopping it. You'd think that we'd sanction countries that enable this type of behavior, and that we'd label people attacking our communication infrastructure by scamming seniors as terrorist, but nope. They just sort of let it happen day in and day out.

Step 1: Go buy personal information about people on the dark web Step 2: Setup bank accounts in their names at neo-banks with weak KYC/AML policies Step 3: Have money sent to these accounts where the actual named owner has no idea it exists and you hold a debit card to it.

The only recourse you have at that point is to shut down the accounts and hope they haven't drained it completely. And that's if everyone is willing to play ball, there are countless bureaucrats in this process that can slow or stop it because it's extra work and they feel like their job isn't on the line if they ignore the request.

> Go buy personal information about people on the dark web

Will Real ID help with identity theft and fraud?

I mean in practical terms. I'm just so ignorant about this stuff. But I'd like to know what reforms I should advocate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_ID_Act

https://www.dhs.gov/enhanced-drivers-licenses-what-are-they

I don't think so. It doesn't look like it really improves authenticating the ID, at best it just moves things around.

It works on paleo-banks with the same KYC/AML policies

> neo-banks with weak KYC/AML policies

It looks like banks need to be better regulated. This seems to be a solution to this and a whole lot other problems.

If they introduce better KYC, you pay naive people to be a "representative" for your company and tell them they get to keep 5% of any payment they forward. It's a pretty old trick. When it blows up, all you get is some naive person who says "but they even had a logo and sent me my own business cards" and a lot of money orders sent somewhere.

Banks are already very strictly regulated; I am not sure how they could be better regulated. Also, many of the regulations have more to do with ensuring complete taxation than helping account holders (as the government wants its money). Do you have any specific ideas? Perhaps there should be fewer requirements, but with more accountability?

* Use stolen id documents so the apparent perpetrator is actually another victim.

* Money mules send the money out of country.

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