Embarc Collective’s Post

The use of checks has plummeted, yet incidents of check fraud almost doubled between 2022 and 2023, according to FinCEN. Here are three ways community banks can help fight it. https://lnkd.in/gfXn_rRS #independentbanker #communitybank #communitybanking

Today ICBA released a resource guide to help #communitybanks minimize instances of #checkfraud and take appropriate steps to recover funds or minimize loss. "Check Fraud: A Practical Guide to Altered, Forged, and Counterfeit Checks for Community Bankers" is focused on helping community bankers understand liability and defenses, but it also surveys the #check #fraud landscape and talks about some helpful mitigation tools. ICBA's Check Fraud Task Force is also hard at work developing resources that will complement the guide. #Payments fraud is an unfortunate reality, but community banks are united in their resolve to fight back.

Fraud prevention remains a top priority for banks, credit unions, and merchants, especially when it comes to check processing. CheckAlt’s innovative Catch! solution addresses these concerns head-on by transforming the way checks are managed, ensuring both security and efficiency. According to the American Bankers Association, check fraud accounts for over 60% of attempted fraud against deposit accounts, amounting to billions of dollars annually. Catch! helps eliminate the risk associated with physical checks traveling through the USPS network. CheckAlt ensures that payments stay digital and secure. This process not only prevents checks from being lost or stolen but also significantly reduces the potential for check fraud. For financial institutions and merchants, this means increased peace of mind and a streamlined payment process. With Catch!, the risk of check fraud is minimized, providing a more secure environment for all parties involved. Discover more about how we are transforming check processing and enhancing security for banks, credit unions, and merchants. ➡ Visit https://lnkd.in/gccSbxpc today! #FraudPrevention #Fintech #DigitalPayments #BankingSecurity #FinancialServices

Take a look at the startling trends in bank drop account fraud over the past year. Drop accounts have become a critical tool for fraudsters, used to deposit stolen checks and launder money. While there are many variations of drop accounts, typically there are two distinct ways that drop accounts are established. The first method involves a fraudster convincing a person to allow them access to their account to deposit checks in exchange for cash. The second method involves a fraudster digitally opening an account at a financial institution that does not have strong identification verification standards. Digitally opening a new account is easier than ever in a post-pandemic world where credit unions and banks have made it a priority to simplify the account-opening process, consequently lowering identity verification standards. One major key for drop accounts is that simply opening an account isn't enough. Rather, the account needs to be open, and legitimate transactions need to occur for a period of time—anywhere between one month to a year. As shown in the graph, the average deposit amount in a drop bank account has dramatically risen, peaking in December and February. Want to know more about what's driving this surge? Check out today's blog post to learn more. #DropAccounts #FraudTrends #CheckFraud

What do banks do when their systems fail to protect customers from being scammed out of their life savings? Simple—claim financial hardship and lobby to slash the maximum amount they’re required to refund victims. Yes, you read that correctly. Victims. Victims of financial scams. Victims who have lost everything, sometimes their entire life savings. But don't worry, banks will still tell you they love their customers. They'll promise to put you first, to safeguard your hard-earned money—until your funds are stolen by fraudsters. Then, you're on your own, because refunding you would cut into their precious dividends. The greed of banks has always been a talking point, but this? This is a new low, an all-time betrayal of customer trust.

#aml #antimoneylaundering #moneylaundering #financialcrime #fincrime An admirable effort by Monzo Bank. Priyesh Patel, Giselle Lohuis, Chris Day - good work. I have some things I would like to put forward on how we can improve the feature(s) to protect even more customers. It would be great if we could speak further on how we can do this.

Banks absolutely do not want legislation that would update the Electronic Fund Transfer Act — which would require banks to reimburse customers that fell prey to scams on Zelle.  "Changing the reimbursement policy is actually not going to do anything to actually solve the problem, which is we actually need to prevent, identify and prosecute the criminals who are taking advantage of innocent Americans," said Melissa Feldsher, managing director and head of commerce enablement at JPMorgan Chase. "We all have a vested interest in protecting all of our customers from fraud and scams, and we want to work together with everybody to drive out the cause of the problem which is the criminals." #banks #bankingsector #regulation https://lnkd.in/gT7_XNQ5

Nice piece by Susan Edmunds on Stuff. What it draws out, is an industry, regulators and agencies who are unable to look inwards. Read the views and digest what they’re not saying. The biggest marginal gains on fraud are in the hands of New Zealand banks, not in the education of customers. Let’s have some intellectual honesty on this. Our well-meaning tips are out of date. Education must continue, but all criminal schemes have a security weakness at the foundation of their design. With all the will in the world, fraud agencies, government agencies and regulators barely touch the customer with their comms. You can’t grab attention when you’re not being looked it. The online payments system, bank websites and bank staff have the eyes of the customer. Speak to them there. Protect them there. As the SFO fraud awareness week begins today, (12-18 Nov 2023), there’s a difficult conversation to have as an industry - be brave and front it this week. Be honest about where the marginal gains lie. Confirmation of Payee, real-time/instant, joining the rest of Asia Pacific with Swift’s ISO20022, adding human friction, stopping insecure code delivery with 1970’s text message tech, in-app signal that a bank phone call is real, numberless credit cards, passkeys, multi-factor authentication and pop-up warnings hold the power to drive down authorised fraud. There is no end game, or completion. Fraud is now a constant, not a project delivery. Fraud will continue to rise, even after we put these basics in place. That doesn’t mean we are unsuccessful. The war is in its infancy. It’s the payments system not the customer, which is under the heaviest fire. #ANZ #BNZ #ASB #Westpac #Kiwibank #payments #scam #fraud Ian Caplin Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Reports of scams have come in steadily through this year - now banks reveal the extent of the loss.

🔒 Calling on Banks: Take Action Against SIM Swap Fraud! 🔒 Banks play a pivotal role in safeguarding their customers' assets. This alarming report by The Guardian underscores the urgent need for banks to fortify their defenses against SIM swap fraud, a growing threat that can result in devastating financial losses for individuals. Most mobile operators offer SIM swap prevention and detection solutions and It's imperative for banks to proactively implement such solutions to mitigate the risks posed by SIM swap scams. By prioritizing the protection of their customers' accounts, banks can uphold trust and security in the digital banking ecosystem. Learn more about this pressing issue: https://lnkd.in/dX4yVUdG #BanksAgainstFraud #SecurityFirst #CustomerProtection #SimSwapScams

A quarter of banks and fintechs lost over $1M to fraud in 2023. While that sounds like a lot, it doesn’t even begin to cover indirect expenses like loss of customer goodwill or regulatory fines. Fortunately, FIs have acknowledged that in order to protect assets going into 2024, they need to abandon both outdated fraud solutions and invest in a holistic view of identity. When we set out to build Alloy's 2024 State of Fraud Benchmark Reports, we wanted to capture a picture of the current fraud landscape. Together with Qualtrics, we surveyed 450 banks, fintechs, and credit unions in the US and the UK to learn how fraud tactics shaped their fraud prevention strategies last year. See how your organization’s 2024 fraud strategy compares to Alloy’s industry benchmarks. Download our report to get the results. #digitaltransformation #fraud #fintech #banking