According to the June SAR Bulletin, some phone card companies are doing more than helping people "reach out and touch someone." Over 160 reports from fourteen states have indicated suspicious financial activity involving businesses engaged in phone card sales. Numbers like that are enough to make FinCEN perk up and take notice.
While the Treasury Department notes that businesses involved in phone card sales routinely generate significant legitimate cash flow, the SARs received indicate activity that may reflect illuse use of phone card businesses. Some examples include:
Unusual deposits or withdrawals of cash;
Cash deposits containing a large number of $100 bills;
Unexpectedly large transactions occuring over relatively brief periods of time;
Frequent structure transactions, followed by immediate withdrawals;
Unusual outgoing wire transfers, cashier's check purchases, and check cashing.
In one instance, a SAR indicated that over $50 million in deposits over the course of a year by a company involved in selling prepaid telephone cards at convenience stores.
Be alert to the prospect of suspicious activity by phone card businesses who maintain accounts with you.
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