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Glossary

Smurfing

Smurfing is structuring carried out through many people, the "smurfs", each making small deposits or transfers that together move a large amount. The individual transactions look ordinary; the pattern appears only when they are connected.

Why it matters for brokers and payment firms

Several unrelated customers funding one beneficiary, or small deposits from many cards landing in one account, are smurfing signals. Linking parties by device, address and funding source is what reveals them.

Related terms

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Transaction monitoring for payment firms

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