Liz Lasher

With my binge watching at an all-time high, I realized I need a detox from not just movies and shows, but electronics in general. As it turns out, I am not alone. I recently polled my colleagues for a recommended reading list, and there were almost too many options to choose from.  If you’re also searching for a break from devices, you may enjoy these reads th…

Across the globe, binge-watching is at an all-time high with movies and shows providing a slight, welcome distraction. By now, you may have made your way through your bucket list, the latest blockbusters and possibly a few outrageous reality shows, aka Tiger King. But now what should you watch? Well, for those of you as obsessed with fraud and financial crime as me…

Thinking long-term while in the midst of a crisis is a challenging exercise. As fraud practitioners, it’s easy to see the immediate impact on our lives – from reduced operational capacity, to the proliferation of COVID19 scams, to the need to modify our strategies as consumer spending habits have suddenly shifted. However, it’s critical that we also take the time t…

In the past weeks, all of our lives have experienced significant disruption. We are balancing caring for the health of loved ones, learning to home-school children, all while continuing to work. Not to mention losing social outlets and drastic economic changes – we really don’t need more life hurdles. So it’s with the top focus of safety and health in mind that I i…

Did you know that more than one million American children were victims of identity fraud in 2017? This shocking statistic was a major driver for me to pore over article after article, looking for the causes and solutions – and put on my hat as both a fraud fighter and a parent.  In my research, I learned that two-thirds of the children whose identities we…

Like most, I started off the new year with a multitude of resolutions, and almost immediately followed that with inevitable procrastination. But I’m not going to let that keep me down. I am going to keep looking forward – especially when it comes to 2020 predictions for fraud and financial crime. This year my brilliant colleagues – Doug Clare, Frank Holzenthal, and TJ…

With people spending more and more time on their mobile phones — an average of three hours and 15 minutes on their phones every day, with the top 20% of smartphone users spending upwards of four and a half hours — “everything mobile” is driving digital transformation. Unfortunately, new fraud opportunities have come along f…

First-party fraud refers to an applicant or customer’s intention to commit fraud, whether through use of a true, manipulated or synthetic identity. It’s difficult to define the problem and many banking professionals debate the merits of who “owns” the first-party fraud problem — the credit risk group or the fraud group. However, even as the two groups have distinct…

If, like me, you’re a parent of young children, you know the routines and priorities: feed, bathe, vaccinate, read to, save for college, and choose your toddler battles wisely. But, no matter how young or old your children may be, there’s one important task you should not neglect: freeze their credit. Why? Child identity fraud is an alarmingly large and growing pro…

With the rapid rise of data breaches around the globe, the fear of identity theft is at an all-time high. Just yesterday, I received an anxious phone call from my neighbor asking what she should do to protect herself. She is justifiably worried someone is going to open a credit card in her name. Alongside the usual advice I give — weighing the pros and cons of a credi…

Spoiler alert: If you are watching Game of Thrones (GoT), but aren't fully caught up, you may want to read this later! In the past 6-12 months, synthetic identity fraud has skyrocketed and has been one of the hottest topics in the financial crimes domain. At the same time, whether it’s Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, zombies have surged in popularity to play sta…

In this final installment of my recent video interview with Jesse Gossman - a Police Detective in South Florida, Certified Fraud Examiner, and president of the counter-fraud consulting group Bottom Line Fraud - we discuss how the culture of perceived legitimacy and legality for CPNs fuels one of the largest challenges for fighting synthetic identity fraud. Financial i…