FinCEN Releases Cybercrime Statement In Lieu of COVID-19

FinCEN issued a statement on cybercrime in light of COVID-19.

U.S. government agency, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, recently put out a notice mentioning the risks and symptoms of internet-related nefarious activities occurring since COVID-19 arose.

“Many illicit actors are engaged in fraudulent schemes that exploit vulnerabilities created by the pandemic,” FinCEN said in a July 30 statement. 

The agency added:

“This advisory contains descriptions of COVID-19-related malicious cyber activity and scams, associated financial red flag indicators, and information on reporting suspicious activity.”

FinCEN’s statement follows a massive Twitter hack weeks ago

FinCEN’s advisory comes after a large-scale Twitter breach affected many top accounts, including Joe Biden, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Cybercrime in general has been on the rise since COVID-19 prevention measures took flight in March, up 75% according to previous reporting.  

“This advisory is intended to aid financial institutions in detecting, preventing and reporting potential COVID19-related criminal activity,” FinCEN said in the July 30 statement. 

FinCEN added:

“This advisory is based on FinCEN’s analysis of COVID-19-related information obtained from Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) data, open source reporting and law enforcement partners.”