FinCEN publishes Spanish version of ‘red flags’ advisory on COVID-19-related cybercrime

A Spanish version of its July 30 advisory issued to help financial institutions identify, prevent, and report potential cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic was announced Monday by Treasury’s financial crimes enforcement unit.

The advisory (FIN-2020-A005) issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) identified 20 specific “red flag” indicators to help financial institutions identify suspicious transactions. It also highlighted the importance of filing suspicious activity report (SARs), calling those reports “crucial to identifying and stopping financial crimes, including those related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

FinCEN said the information in the advisory was based on the agency’s analysis of COVID-19-related information obtained from data collected through Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports filed, open source reporting, and law enforcement partners.

FIN-2020-A005: