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CONTROLS TO DETECT MONEY ORDER FRAUD

Feb 07 2013
View PDF
Report Number: DP-AR-13-002 Type: Audit Reports Category: Retail, Sales &
Marketing 1 Comment

BACKGROUND:

The U.S. Postal Service sells domestic and international money orders for a fee
in values of up to $1,000. Money orders are sequentially numbered financial
instruments that must be safeguarded due to their potential use in embezzlement
and money laundering schemes. Customers purchase money orders using cash, debit
cards, or travelers checks as a convenient and safe method to transfer cash or
make payments. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, fees from money order sales generated
$129 million in revenue.

The Postal Service performs a monthly reconciliation of the cashed amount and
the face value of the sold money order. During FYs 2010 through 2012,
reconciliation differences averaged $2.1 million annually. During that same
period, the U.S.Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Office of
Investigations completed 136 money order embezzlement cases resulting in the
removal, arrest, and/or prosecution of Postal Service employees.

Our objective was to determine whether money order controls are sufficient to
detect fraud in a timely manner.

WHAT THE OIG FOUND:

Postal Service money order controls are not sufficient to detect fraud in a
timely manner. Specifically, the Postal Service does not sufficiently monitor
money order transactions at retail units and make investigative referrals of
potential fraud. Further, Postal Service personnel do not provide information to
district management to identify questionable activity, such as potential misuse
of Postal Service funds. The OIG has detected a substantial number of
embezzlement cases since FY 2010, not detected by Postal Service controls.
Without adequate monitoring of money order transactions by management, abuses,
errors, and misappropriation of Postal Service assets may go undetected.

The Postal Service is designing a program to analyze money order activity to
improve the reconciliation process, detect fraud and communicate results to
district and area management and the OIG.

WHAT THE OIG RECOMMENDED:

We recommended management monitor money order reconciliation transactions and
develop a program to analyze and communicate questionable money order activity
to district management and the OIG, as appropriate, for review and corrective
action. 


COMMENTS (1)

 * 
   Carla Baxley
   
   Hello, I am a card fraud analyst at Alaska USA Federal Credit Union.
   Fraudster’s are completing quasi cash and cash back transactions with
   counterfeit cards at multiple United States Postal Service offices in
   California. Some of them at the unattended kiosks, too. They are stealing
   thousands of dollars from our Members. Please contact me to discuss this
   further to see what you need from me to stop this activity from continuing.
   Thank you
   
   
   
   Jan 23, 2018

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