Midwest Fraud Investigators Network

Join us at 1pm on September 10th to hear Noel  Thomas give a presentation on Human Trafficking. A link to the meeting has been sent to members email.

Noel Thomas is the Founder and CEO of Dark Watch, where he leads with a vision to create a world where every individual is valued, protected, and free from exploitation. A recognized leader in the global fight against human trafficking, Thomas brings a unique background spanning law enforcement coordination, organizational leadership, and technological innovation.

His journey began in the mission fields of Operation Mobilization and Youth With A Mission (YWAM), where he witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of trafficking on vulnerable communities worldwide. This experience ignited his lifelong mission to dismantle exploitation at its core. He went on to serve as the Statewide Counter Trafficking Coordinator for Florida, where he worked to align law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and government bodies in disrupting trafficking networks and supporting survivors.

Driven to harness technology for social good, Thomas founded Dark Watch, an intelligence platform that leverages advanced data analytics to expose and combat organized crime and trafficking. Under his leadership, Dark Watch equips financial institutions, law enforcement, and hospitality partners with actionable intelligence to safeguard communities and prevent exploitation.

Thomas is also a Whitaker-published author of Dark Traffic, a book that sheds light on the hidden economies of organized crime while offering pathways to hope and action. His unwavering dedication, grounded in faith and a commitment to justice, continues to inspire individuals and organizations worldwide to join in the mission to set captives free.

Red Flags of Crypto Investment Schemes and Best Practice Considerations

Join Taylor Etzell from FINRA in a discussion on red flags financial institutions may come across that could indicate a customer is the victim of a crypto investment scheme. Taylor will also share her perspective on processes and controls that may help address these schemes.

Taylor Etzell is a Senior Principal Investigator on FINRA’s Crypto Asset Investigations team. As a member of the former Digital Asset Specialist Team, Taylor has nearly seven years of experience conducting crypto asset-related examinations and investigations of FINRA member firms, registered representatives, and associated persons. Prior to her current role, Taylor was a Principal Investigator on the Special Investigation Unit’s AML team, where she furthered her knowledge of crypto activities and AML investigations through her work on matters involving firms offering crypto asset services. Taylor joined FINRA in 2015 as an examiner in the Firm Examination program.

Missy Coyne will be presenting on Synthetic ID Fraud at our next meeting at 1pm on 3-12-25. Missy has been employed with National Insurance Crime Bureau since March of 2016. Missy started as an Agent in the Mid-Atlantic Region and is currently assigned to Learning and Development as a Learning and Development Specialist.

Missy retired from the Baltimore County Police Department after 27 years of service in December of 2015. She was a Detective in the Financial Crimes Unit for the last 14 years of her career, 10 of which she was assigned to the United States Secret Service Federal Fraud Task Force. As a Detective, her area of expertise involved investigations pertaining to identity theft and credit card fraud.

She was the Mid Atlantic Chapter President of IAFCI (International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators) from 2012 to 2019, the International Treasurer for 2021/2022 and the 1st Vice President for 2023/2024. She is currently the Treasurer of the WV Chapter of IASIU

At our next meeting on January 8th at 1pm, Simon Marchand, CFE and independent consultant, will present on Fighting Fraud with Biometrics.

Check your email for meeting details!

Fighting Fraud with Biometrics

Fraudsters run a business. They’re nimble, agile and creative, and their fraud toolkit never ceases to expand. From stolen credentials to synthetic identities, location and IP spoofing, VPNs built of thousands of infected devices, deepfakes and GenAI-powered tools, they have hundreds of ways to circumvent traditional fraud prevention strategies. Fraud-as-a-service platforms, coaching and mentoring services and comprehensive guides make it easier than ever for everyone to start attacking various organizations. And many of these methods don’t require technological knowledge to access, are now more accessible than ever, shared of forums or messaging apps, facilitating fraud for non-professionals and making it ever-so-difficult for fraud strategists to prevent many new attack types. With these rapid shifts in technology, it is essential fraud professionals understand the most recent technology available to them.

In this session, we’ll explore the new tools available to fraudsters, but also address the real risk GenAI and deepfake poses to our organizations before examining how biometrics technology is used today, and can be used to prevent fraud, investigate it, and facilitate collaboration with law enforcement.

Speaker Bio

Simon Marchand is an independent fraud consultant, expert in external fraud risk, identity and biometrics.

A Certified Fraud Examiner, and Chartered Administrator, Marchand has extensive expertise in fraud prevention, detection, security and authentication in the banking and telecom industries as well as the technology sector with more than 14 years of experience in the field. He held senior leadership positions at Vancouver-based GeoComply as VP of Product Management – Risk, then VP of Fraud & Risk Strategy, after a few years as Nuance’s (now Microsoft) Chief Fraud Prevention Officer and Director of Product Management for the Security & Biometrics division. Prior to these strategic roles in the technology industry, he held key fraud management positions at Montreal-based Laurentian Bank, at Bell Canada, and at Québec’s Order of Chartered Administrators, where he managed its professional inspection program.

As senior fraud expert and independent consultant, he helps design fraud prevention technology that disrupt criminal operations and facilitate fraud investigations for a variety of industries. He collaborates with organizations and associations from all over the world to help better understand current and upcoming fraud risks and design prevention strategies in collaboration with anti-fraud teams from various industries. He regularly shares his expertise in various conferences and with associations around the world and also regularly speaks on fraud risks and the ethical use of fraud prevention technology in the media.