Seinfeld, the Beach, and Stopping Wire Fraud

The Things that People Do to Stop Criminals

I love Seinfeld’s stand-up.  I’m a fan of the show, have seen him live and often go down YouTube rabbit holes watching old clips.

In particular this bit on criminality and the strategies we employ to stop the bad guys resonates now more than ever.

“We can’t stop getting ripped-off. We’re gonna get ripped off. We think we’re not, we think we’re very clever, we think we’re gonna foil the crooks. We go to the beach, go in the water, put your wallet in the sneaker, who’s gonna know? What criminal mind could penetrate this fortress of security? I put it down by the toe. They never look there. They check the heels, they move on.”

Sneaker Security Strategy

The joke makes me laugh because I have been that beachgoer.  I am betting that I am not the slowest gazelle that day.  By hiding my wallet (and keys and phone) in my shoe, towards the toe, I was protecting myself just enough that I believed the crooks would likely target someone with an even worse strategy, like leaving their wallet in plain view.  When employing the sneaker strategy, you deep down know it is absurd, which creates the tension and the ultimate sigh of relief you experience upon your return to the shoes and discover your valuables are safe.

The lesson embedded in joke applies very well to Conduit’s business of wire fraud.  Invariably, the victims of wire fraud we help to recover wires transfers had a strategy in place, it just was not the right one.  Deep down the victims often knew it, judging by the heightened anxiety they always felt around wiring funds.   Their strategies were a mix that ranged from firewalls and phishing training to fastidious accountants and bank call backs. 

But remember, stopping wire fraud is 10% IT and 90% process and accountability. 

If you are not sure you are doing everything possible to stop wire fraud, you are probably using a sneaker strategy and are at risk.

If you want a best practice strategy that thoroughly protects you, please reach out!

Safe Wiring!