Month: March 2018

Two year anniversary

My first long blog post was published two years ago on this day. A couple of weeks earlier, I had decided to quit my job in order to write Bankers are people, too.

I want to use this anniversary to thank you for reading my work. Who could foresee then that I would make new friends because of this blog?

There is more to celebrate. The Dutch translation of Bankers are people, too will be released on April 12. Check out the invitation (pdf, in Dutch). Send me a message if you would like to attend the book launch party in Brussels!

I also have a favor to ask if you have already bought Bankers are people, too. Please consider writing a review. This will help other intelligent readers like you to find the book.

Crooks with books: Laundering money as an “author” (part 1)

Createspace enables independent authors to publish their works and to distribute them through Amazon.

Amazon takes care of the printing, shipping, and payments. The author receives a monthly royalty payment. I used Createspace to publish Bankers are people, too.

Unfortunately, criminals have also discovered that they can use the platform for money laundering.

Brian Krebs explains how it works on his blog, KrebsonSecurity. Someone publishes a bogus book and sets an extremely high price for it, e.g. $555. They use stolen credit cards to buy the book. Amazon pays the “author” about 60% of the retail price in royalties. This money looks like a legit income. The stolen money has been laundered. Continue reading “Crooks with books: Laundering money as an “author” (part 1)”