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Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FinCEN Warns Financial Institutions of Crypto Kiosk Scams
The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a notice urging financial institutions to watch for suspicious activity tied to crypto kiosks.d These convertible virtual currency (CVC) kiosks, which allow users to access and transact in cryptocurrency, offer consumers a simple way to buy crypto, the money laundering watchdog said. Yet, FinCEN said these are being exploited by criminals to engage in fraud, cybercrime and drug trafficking. The agency pointed to a growing number of scams involving payments made through these machines, including fake tech support, customer service impersonation and bank-related scams, some of which disproportionately affect older adults. 'Criminals are relentless in their efforts to steal money from victims, and they've learned to exploit innovative technologies like CVC kiosks,' said FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki in a statement. The notice points out that risks are exacerbated by institutions failing to meet their obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act. FinCEN has for years been tracking illicit uses involving crypto. Last year, it released a report saying bitcoin became a popular means of payment related to smuggling and exploitation of people. It has also analyzed crypto transactions potentially tied to Hamas. Sign in to access your portfolio
Mint
09-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Mexican Firms Targeted by US for Laundering Get Reprieve
The US Treasury is granting a 45-day reprieve to three Mexican financial firms it moved to cut off from the US financial system, citing progress by the country's government in addressing money laundering by drug trafficking cartels. The Treasury department's ban on fund transfers with the designated firms will now take effect on Sept. 4, it said in a statement. The department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network slapped orders last month on CIBanco SA, Intercam Banco SA and brokerage Vector Casa de Bolsa SA prohibiting all transfers with them from late July. 'Treasury will continue to take every action necessary to protect the US financial system from abuse by illicit actors and target the financing of transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers,' Andrea Gacki, FinCEN director, said in the statement. Gacki said the US and Mexico had coordinated 'for months' to take the unprecedented steps. The move last month to identify the three firms as potentially involved in money laundering for drug cartels sparked chaos in Mexico, even though the Treasury said the impacts on the economy would minimal. The measures immediately prompted firms in both the US and Mexico to cut off business with the three affected institutions and cast a cloud over private equity and real estate trusts administered by the firms. The Mexican government had pushed for ways to soften the blow, including a carve-out for such trusts, according to people familiar with the matter. The country's Finance Ministry also sought more clarity on which companies and transactions were caught by the ban, including if it extended to local payments firms and payments within Mexico, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The disruptions had pushed Mexico's bank regulator to intervene the day after the US announcement. And earlier this month, Mexico's Finance Ministry said it was temporarily transferring the trust businesses of CIBanco and Intercam to local development banking units, with plans to eventually spin them off. All three firms have rejected the Treasury department's claims, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the US had not provided proof of money laundering. The steps were the first time FinCEN has used the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, an anti-money laundering and sanctions law enacted last year. In winning the latest reprieve, Mexico had showed a commitment to addressing financial risks, particularly by assuming temporary control of the designated firms, the Treasury said in the statement. Any further extension would depend on the actions and cooperation of the Mexican government — which should be clear on the seriousness of President Donald Trump's plan to stamp out cartels — according to another person familiar with the matter. Fitch Ratings said Tuesday that the designated institutions' relatively small market share as well as the swift regulatory response have limited the threat of broader market disruption. But it warned that money laundering risks will hang over Mexico's financial system. 'Contagion risk can erode confidence in the broader financial system if not contained, which could pressure cross-border capital flows, increase compliance costs, and drive client outflows,' Fitch analysts including Alejandro Tapia wrote. Sheinbaum said during her daily media conference on Wednesday that the Finance Ministry has acted 'very responsibly, precisely to prevent the contagion Fitch is talking about.' She added that the ministry's handling of the trusts is a long and laborious process, but that it's going well. 'With the bank trusts, it's a problem,' she said. 'It's an operational risk, but it's not a credit risk or a counterparty risk.' The banks' roles as trustee for much of the country's financial issuance caused a particular headache. Billions of dollars of real estate and private equity securities have been sold by investment firms in the past decade, mostly to Mexico's pension funds, and CIBanco was a dominant player as trustee. The orders raised concerns over whether US-based funds would be able to receive money or make distributions. A series of Mexican REITs have already moved to replace CIBanco as trustee. 'The measures had a wider reach than expected,' said Mauricio Basila, a lawyer and former official and Mexico's bank regulator. With assistance from Maya Averbuch. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Forbes
24-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why Our Legal System Is Unprepared For The Synthetic Media Age
Jason Crawforth is the Founder and CEO of a company working to restore confidence in digital media authenticity. In a time when seeing is no longer believing, our legal system is facing a credibility crisis. The U.S. Department of Justice, long a guardian of evidentiary truth, is now staring down a new threat: the rise of synthetic media—AI-generated videos, audio and images indistinguishable from reality. As these technologies grow in sophistication, the DOJ must confront a harsh truth: Traditional evidentiary standards are on the verge of collapse. The implications are grave. For over a century, video and photographic evidence have been a foundation of truth in courtrooms. But when fabricated footage becomes indistinguishable from actual events, what happens to that foundation? Synthetic media is advancing at a breakneck pace. Deepfake volumes double every six months. The amount of synthetic content is growing at an exponential pace. The DOJ is no longer just prosecuting crimes; it's doing so in a world where digital reality is contested. They aren't alone in federal agencies feeling the ramifications of deep fakes. The U.S. Department of Treasury has highlighted the problem with now former-Director Andrea Gacki, sharing that, 'While GenAI holds tremendous potential as a new technology, bad actors are seeking to exploit it to defraud American businesses and consumers, to include financial institutions and their customers.' According to Europol's 2022 report, the emergence of 5G and cloud computing has not only enhanced communication and privacy for institutions but also opened new doors for criminal exploitation. The additional bandwidth enables real-time manipulation of video streams, allowing deepfake technologies to infiltrate videoconferencing, live-streaming and even television broadcasts. Europol's Innovation Lab emphasizes the rise of "crime-as-a-service" (CaaS), where tools, techniques and AI models—including deepfakes—are commercialized on dark web platforms. These criminal actors are typically early adopters, staying a step ahead of law enforcement. The report also warns of a deeper societal impact. As synthetic content becomes increasingly realistic and accessible, public trust in media, institutions and authority figures could erode—culminating in what experts term an 'information apocalypse' or 'reality apathy.' In this future, distinguishing fact from fiction becomes nearly impossible, and a shared societal truth may disappear altogether. Current forensic tools, while valuable, are increasingly reactive and insufficient. They play catch-up in an endless game of cat and mouse. The only truly sustainable solution is a proactive one. This isn't just innovation. It's necessity. Consider the legal ramifications. If we can't prove that a video wasn't tampered with—if we can't even prove it was real to begin with—how can we admit it as evidence? How can we convict? How can we defend ourselves? The burden of proof becomes a liability. The courtroom becomes a stage for doubt, not justice. The DOJ must act decisively to update its evidentiary standards. It must embrace media authenticity technologies that don't just detect manipulation but prove reality. Just as DNA testing revolutionized forensics, real-time media authentication can restore trust in digital evidence. It must also push for global standards. Digital content crosses borders in milliseconds; our legal protections must be just as agile. What Should The DOJ (And Everyone Else) Be Doing Right Now? To navigate the synthetic media era, the DOJ and other similar institutions need a mindset and technological shift. Here's how they (and you) can get ahead of the threat instead of reacting to it: 1. Shift from detection to authentication. Reactive forensic tools try to spot fakes after they surface, often too late. Instead, agencies need platforms that prove content is real from the moment of capture. Think of it like a digital notary that stamps the truth into every pixel. This transforms evidentiary review from a guessing game into a science. 2. Embrace point-of-creation integrity. The only sustainable solution is to anchor authenticity at the source. By cryptographically fingerprinting digital content and securing it, organizations can maintain an unbroken chain of custody. This level of tamper-evidence deters bad actors and restores evidentiary confidence. 3. Vet media like digital DNA. Just as DNA revolutionized criminal justice by making biological evidence indisputable, cryptographic 'digital DNA' can do the same for recorded evidence. Agencies should adopt tools that let them verify authenticity with mathematical certainty, not assumptions. 4. Demand provenance by default. Any digital asset, especially if presented as evidence, should come with a verifiable origin trail. If it doesn't, treat it with caution. Courts and investigative bodies should begin establishing standards where unverified content is presumed unreliable until proven otherwise. 5. Train for a new evidentiary standard. Judges, prosecutors and investigators must be educated on what modern media authentication looks like. The courtroom of the future won't just examine motive and opportunity, it will scrutinize metadata, hash integrity, and blockchain timestamps. This is more than a technical challenge—it's a societal one. In an era of disinformation, manipulated media isn't just a tool of crime; it's a weapon against democracy, trust and truth itself. The justice system's integrity depends on truth. And in this new age, truth must be defended at the pixel level. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
