The new language of scandal

The scandal surrounding the resignation of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer on Wednesday ratcheted up the lingo of money laundering.

Accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes from the Emperor's Club prostitution ring, Spitzer is also suspected of trying to hide the financial transactions by using "structuring" and may have been caught because his bank considered him a "pep."

New York-based Fortent, a financial software and services firm that helps banks detect potentially illegal activity, supplied the following guidelines to money laundering lingo and practices.

The Bank Secrecy Act and the USA Patriot Act require banks to report individual transactions of more than $10,000.

These are considered red flags.

• Structuring: Multiple cash transactions just under $10,000.

• Wire transfers: Attempting to take a sender's name off a transfer or using a false name.

• ATM deposits: Large cash deposits trigger suspicions.

• Peps: "Politically exposed persons" get watched closely for signs of corruption by their own banks.

• Shell company: An entity with no assets or operations, sometimes used for illegal purposes.

• FinCEN: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the part of the U.S. Treasury that must be notified of red flags.