Disappearing acts: virtual asset schemes

Teresa Anaya is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Certified Cryptocurrency Investigator, Certified Bitcoin Professional, as well as being ITIL3 Certified. She serves as the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Officer for stable coin company Trust Token, where she is responsible for illicit activity monitoring. A stable coin is a cryptocurrency backed by a reserve asset.

Cryptocurrencies have often been described as the ‘wild west’ of the finance industry. But to describe those who have taken inappropriate advantage of this technology as ‘cowboys’ would be putting it mildly. Though of course there are legitimate users, criminals have seized the opportunity to move illicit funds anonymously, while numerous fraud schemes have flourished. Teresa Anaya outlines some of the most common scams.