Financial crimes

A new report from the Consumer Federation of America says the true cost of online scams is an estimated $119 billion per year; Associated Banc-Corp moves forward with its planned acquisition of family owned American National; Servbank HoldCo completes its acquisition of IF Bancorp; and more in this week's banking news roundup.

Before holding financial institutions accountable for new regulatory expectations, clearer guidance is needed on what constitutes appropriate risk-based decision-making versus impermissible "debanking."

The war may put a damper on bank mergers; and financial crime has become a global industry -- a big global industry

Criminals are using AI and professional crime networks to scale attacks, yielding massive operational risks for banks, according to a new report from Nasdaq.

A House subcommittee debated new legislation to improve bank data sharing and slow down transactions to thwart sophisticated financial scams.

Romance scams and other "pig butchering" frauds are growing rapidly. Should banks refund the stolen money? Not all agree on the answer to that question.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's expectations of banks that file suspicious activity reports have changed. Some banking clients may soon discover that they are less appealing customers than they used to be.

As geopolitical threats loom, the U.S. needs a better-coordinated AML strategy. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network should take the lead in implementing needed reforms.

New York Attorney General Letitia James warns that scammers are coaching victims to bypass bank security and using "second act" schemes to steal more.

Financial fraud in the U.S. has become so sophisticated that it now has its own internal economy, complete with supply chains and customer service. Banks need to wake up to the reality that the landscape has changed.

Attorneys from Holland & Knight warn that Treasury is targeting financial services companies in Minneapolis and at the southern border in an AML crackdown.

Renat Abramov, a former relationship manager in Brooklyn, bypassed know-your-customer protocols to open accounts for shell companies involved in a $14.6 billion scheme.

Prosecutors allege Curtis Weston and a bank insider used fraudulent loans to fund stock market trades, leaving the bank with $20 million in losses.

Prosecutors claim the Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree maintained two sets of books to hide Kalder's actual revenue of just $60,000.

Court documents reveal how a teller used the drive-through window and work email to aid a scheme that bypassed TD's fraud defenses.

Prosecutors argued the 23-year-old courier knew he was aiding criminals, citing texts about "gold rushing" and scammer videos on his phone.

As the Trump administration signals interest in reforming AML regulations, the industry must come together in support of new rules that promote efficiency and effectiveness in the fight against financial crime.

TD Bank has said it's completed "the majority" of the action items for its U.S. compliance remediation.

The collapse of the illicit escrow marketplace disrupts a major hub for "pig butchering" scams, though experts warn the ecosystem will likely fragment.

As artificial intelligence is integrated into more and more core banking operations, bank boards of directors need to make sure business continuity plans account for the possibility of AI system failures.