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Hindenburg said former employees estimated that 40% to 75% of Cash App’s accounts were either fake, involved in crime, were additional accounts tied to a single user, or some combination of the three. Block employees also told Hindenburg that in order to keep growth strong during the pandemic — allowing Dorsey and Block co-founder James McKelvey to sell more than $1 billion in company stock — Cash App disregarded warning signs of criminal activity and failed to uphold basic security measures.

From Cash App is Lying to Investors and Abetting Crime, Short Seller Says | The Motley Fool:

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The Office of the United States Attorney has filed a federal criminal complaint charging Joanne Marian Segovia with attempt to illegally import a controlled substance in connection with a scheme to bring synthetic opioids into the country and distribute them throughout the United States, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. The criminal complaint was filed on March 27, 2023, and unsealed the next day.

According to the complaint, Segovia, 64, of San Jose, is the Executive Director of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association (SJPOA). The complaint alleges that Segovia used her personal and office computers to order thousands of opioid and other pills to her home and agreed to distribute the drugs elsewhere in the United States.

From Northern District of California | San Jose Police Union Executive Charged With Attempted Illegal Importation Of Fentanyl Analogue | United States Department of Justice:

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Segovia’s CashApp account was used for 127 transactions that investigators said was likely for drug purchases, and was linked to her police union email account.

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When confronted by investigators about her involvement in February, officials said she at first tried to deny she had ever ordered anything but supplements and claimed to “work for the police department.” She also refused to let investigators see her CashApp transactions.

From San Jose police union office manager charged in fentanyl scheme – San José Spotlight:

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A few weeks ago in Pittsburgh, Beth Royce said she woke up to an early morning call. Her phone lit up with her younger sister’s contact info and photo, so Royce answered. But it was not her sister’s voice on the other end of the line.

Instead, Royce said she heard an unfamiliar male voice say, “I got this girl and I’m going to kill her if you don’t send me money.” The man cautioned her not to contact the police or he would “shoot the sister in the head.” A petrified Royce silently signaled her mother, who was in town visiting, and continued talking.

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“He sounded crazy. I heard muffled sobs in the background that sounded like a woman’s voice, so of course I thought this was my sister,” Royce said.

Over the 16-minute conversation, the voice demanded money via Cash App or Zelle, and she sent a total of $1,000. Meanwhile, her mother contacted her sister separately and learned she was safe in her apartment in Seattle.

From New Personalized Scams Use Relatives’ Information To Get You To Send Money | HuffPost UK Home & Living:

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Christoph Hock from Union Investment gave a convincing rationale for going digital. He should know as Union Investment has been one of the most prolific investors in the space. It invested in both the EIB euro-denominated digital bonds as well as the Siemens one. From today’s talk, Hock gave the impression Union was the sole investor in the initial €100m EIB bond back in 2021.

“Various investors, about 250 participated in the investor education call, but at the end, it was just us getting invested in this paper,” he said. However, the second EIB bond had multiple investors, as did the Siemens bond.

From Hock’s perspective, the benefits are quite clear. Union gets an additional 15 basis point return on a one year bond. So by lowering costs, it results in higher returns to their investors.

From Goldman on tokenization: we’re not allowed to issue on public blockchain – Ledger Insights – blockchain for enterprise:

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Mike Storiale, vice president for innovation development at Synchrony Financial Services. “Palm Pilot users never thought they would want or need a device like the Blackberry, and Blackberry users thought the same about the iPhone initially. The metaverse is chaotic now, but that’s not a bad thing as companies are exploring what they can do in it now, as well as big ideas for down the road.”

From Into the Metaverse – Digital Transactions:

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Another way metaverse platforms can control the movement of money is by making transactions directly between a user’s and a merchant’s digital wallet. In this scenario, the money bypasses traditional processing channels and goes nowhere near the banking system, points out David Birch, a United Kingdom-based author, advisor, and commentator on digital financial services.

“Metaverse payments don’t need the same infrastructure as payments in the physical world because users have the credentials to identify themselves, which helps prevent fraud,” Birch says. “The question for the processors is, what will they do if money in the metaverse moves directly between wallets?”

The answer to that question so far is unclear. Many payments providers, fintechs, and processors have penned articles and blogs, or given interviews, about the potential opportunities in the metaverse. But several of those companies contacted for this story declined comment, arguing the metaverse is still too new to discuss it in anything other than extremely broad terms.

From Into the Metaverse – Digital Transactions:

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Tens of billions of pounds have been lost to fraud since the start of the COVID pandemic, according to the National Audit Office (NAO), with little chance of the majority being reclaimed.

Of the £21bn identified by the NAO to have been lost by the government, more than £7bn is linked to schemes introduced during the pandemic

From £21bn of public money lost in fraud since COVID pandemic began and most will never be recovered | UK News | Sky News:

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Vision paper on digital euro

Intermediaries should also be able to be compensated, beyond the payment-related costs, for providing all digital euro-related services, such as: (a) opening and maintaining digital euro accounts, (b) performing KYC (Know-Your-Customer) procedures, (c) continuous monitoring for AML/CFT1 and anti- fraud purposes, (d) portability services, (e) funding and defunding of the wallet, (f) dispute resolutions. Finally, value-added services provided to payers and payees should be subject to remuneration.

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A new survey from AutoPacific (via Ars Technica) found that consumers generally couldn’t be any less interested in such offerings. For example just 30 percent of those eager to buy a new car said they were interested in paying for their car’s Internet access. And 23 percent said they’d be interested in being able to remotely control some vehicle functions via an app for $10 per month.

From Consumers Aren’t Buying Automaker Plans To Make Everything A Subscription | Techdirt:

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Consumers trust the providers they transact online with most to provide a credentials vault — their bank, PayPal and Amazon.

From Prepaid Debit Cards and Apps Help Seniors Avoid Falling Prey to Hackers and Scams:

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Tinder and Bumble (dating sites) have been ordered to hand over data to the Australian government as part of improving safety.