GeoComply Tuesday announced the addition of former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Michael Dawson to its Risk Services team. Dawson, who has more than 23 years of experience in detection of cybercrime, fraud, and money laundering related to cryptocurrency, will serve as law enforcement liaison for the Vancouver, British Columbia-based geolocation services company.
“This feels like such a good fit for me because it allows me to continue the fight against fraud using GeoComply’s cutting-edge technology,” Dawson said in a statement. “Geolocation is such an effective tool. If more of the banks and platforms I helped had used GeoComply, it would have made investigations a lot simpler and the life of the criminals a lot harder.”
Dawson joined the Secret Service in 1999 as a member of the Electric Crimes Taskforce. For over 23 years he worked with local and federal law enforcement agencies, academia, and the corporate sector. Dawson also served as the lead case agent for Operation Crypto Runner, a multi-agency organized crime investigation that focused on identifying, mitigating, seizing, and disrupting global cybercrime money laundering.
Discussing with Gaming News Canada on how his Secret Service career prepared him for his current role, Dawson said he “was doing investigations. . . . from credit card fraud to spending three years investigating large auto theft rings. Homicide investigations. It’s unpredictable. In the course of one of those investigations, you’re told tomorrow you have to pack a bag because you’re going to Laos for two weeks. It takes a certain mindset to thrive in that environment. You have to be flexible, and that translates well to a growing technology industry. Bringing that flexibility allows me to shift focus quickly.”
GeoComply’s Risk Services team covers all aspects of fraud and risk management, field compliance services, and law enforcement liaison. The team is designed to help customers identify and address high-risk behavior from their customers, mitigate that risk, and identity it to law enforcement agencies when required.
“While automating fraud alerts is a big part of what we do to protect our customers, we have found that machines still don’t learn as fast as fraud evolves,” said GeoComply’s Director of Risk Services Danny DiRienzo. “Our fraud-fighting capabilities are therefore rooted in a blend of human analysis meshed with the very best that data science can provide.”
