Expense Account Fraud Hits Wells Fargo

Fraud hits firms large and small. Wells Fargo is the latest industry behemoth to make headlines.

And yes, the beleaguered bank is again in the news for account fraud – but this time around, it’s about expense accounts. As reported in various financial publications, Wells has fired roughly a score of employees tied to its banking division, with employees ranging in title from analysts to managing directors. They had allegedly violated Wells’ expense policy centered on after-hours meals.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Wells often reimburses staffers if they order food when they stay late at the office to work on company deals and other projects.

Separately, the trend toward email fraud continues – but it’s not the type with the malicious link that grabs your info or directs you to some nefarious fraudster’s lair. In this case, simplicity reigns.

How simple? Think plain old emails, rendered in plain text – and with no links needed to direct the unwitting to being parted with account information (or funds). The tech firm’s study has found that seemingly authentic wording and context are enough to get the fraud job done – or help persuade a wire transfer. Barracuda Networks finds that bogus text emails fly under the radar of most fraud detection systems, as they do not have the aforementioned links.

Separately, Google has stated that its own roster of 85,000 employees has a year-long tally without what gizmodo terms “security mishaps.” In light of that achievement, the firm has pointed to its new practice of using physical security keys for two-factor authentication.

Want individual cases of fraud both here and abroad? Click here to see how firms and agencies are duped out of thousands – and even hundreds of thousands – of dollars and pounds.