OrboNation Newsletter: Check Processing and Fraud – June 2026
FinCEN Strongly Encouraging Data Sharing to Fight Fraud
Recently, we posted about warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that fraudsters thrive when FIs aren't sharing data. The IMF argued that AI and machine learning work best when they have access to large, diverse datasets, and that fragmented, siloed environments limit what those models can detect.
Coming on the heels of the warning, PYMNTS reports that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is updating its Section 314(b) guidance, “strongly encouraging” financial institutions to participate in the program and treat information sharing as a core tool for managing illicit finance risk. FinCEN says the framework gives FIs the “flexibility and connectivity” needed to stop bad actors from exploiting gaps between banks, credit unions, and payment providers.
Are Post Offices Locations Next In Line For Organized Criminal Robberies?
While the majority of the mail theft/stolen check events typically target mailboxes, mail carriers, or collusion with an USPS employee, over the past few years we've seen a few examples where criminals go to the extreme and directly rob a post office location. However, a particularly brazen robbery occurred back in 2023. Most of the country is familiar with "flash mob robberies," where large groups of people suddenly rush into a retail store and steal merchandise en masse.
Fraudster Rapper Turns Social Media Fame Into a Full-Scale Check Scam
Over the past two decades, social media has been perhaps one of the greatest innovations in the history of mankind, and also one of the worst. No other medium is as controversial...particularly when it comes to fraud. We've seen fraudsters recruit unwitting money mules, mine for personal information, and most recently social media "money hacks" that have resurrected check kiting.
AI’s Role in Driving Growth for Credit Unions and Community Financial Institutions
The PYMNTS Intelligence report, “Built to Lead or Losing Ground? AI, Mobile and the Member Retention Imperative for Credit Unions in 2026,” makes one thing clear: AI, mobile, and digital onboarding are now central to member loyalty, not experimental add‑ons. Members most at risk of leaving are often those who value AI‑enabled experiences the most, including proactive financial guidance, fast digital account opening, and seamless authentication.
ASC X9 Publishes Check Fraud Report and Establishes New Fraud Forum
Back in February of 2025, the Accredited Standards Committee X9 Board of Directors established the Check Fraud Industry Forum -- bringing together users of check-related standards and technical reports, including TR 8 Check Security, in an open roundtable environment. The forum serves as a platform for industry participants to discuss check fraud trends, prevention techniques, and the effectiveness of existing standards while providing feedback and identifying emerging needs. Its goal is to raise awareness of fraud mitigation strategies and help the check payments industry reduce risk and strengthen fraud prevention efforts.
Last week, the ASC X9 published a new report incorporating feedback from participating organizations entitled “Mitigating Check Fraud Risk in the Modern Financial Ecosystem." The document provides practical ways to reduce fraud while maintaining smooth operations and customer confidence. It also reviews the current state of check payments and highlights the financial impact check fraud is having on the industry.
USPS OIG Spring 2026 Report: Is the Postal Service Hiding Its Inability to Stop Fraud?
For years, OrboGraph has tracked a troubling pattern in USPS mail security failures. We've covered the audit that found 143 missing arrow keys in Sacramento post offices, the nationwide audit of 84 facilities where 76 had untracked or unsecured arrow keys, and the USPS's own damning report on its new eLock program — where 12,000 units sat uninstalled, USPS canceled a planned second batch of 50,000, and 20% of carrier scanning devices were simply unaccounted for.
JPMorgan Chase Successfully Deploys Robotics for Lockbox Processing
A majority of FIs are in the process or have already deployed AI technologies like OrboAnywhere to automate the processing of check payments. FIs understood that legacy OCR technologies were inefficient, only achieving accuracy and rates around 80% -- leading to the need for manual intervention. This made an attractive use case for deploying AI.
Are You Still Running “SPF 15” Check Fraud Protection?
Summer is here, and everyone is talking about SPF. But, while your accountholders are thinking about sunscreen, fraudsters are turning up the heat on your check channels. Advanced Fraud Solutions recently posed a smart question: “What’s your fraud SPF?”—a metaphor for how well protected financial institutions really are in today’s fraud climate.
What Is Really Stopping Adoption of Real-Time Payments
The industry has been proclaiming the benefits of real-time payments, and how they will be the "death of checks." However, for all the perceived and proven benefits -- including speed, cashflow, revenue recognition -- adoption has been slow. So, why is it that traditional payments like checks still dominate B2B payments?
The US Government Addressing Funds Availability with the STOP Payments Fraud Act
PYMNTS recently highlighted a new House bill that could quietly change the way financial institutions fight check and wire fraud: Rep. Young Kim’s STOP Payments Fraud Act. The proposal would allow banks to place extended holds on suspicious checks and wire transfers while potential fraud is investigated—addressing a long standing tension between rapid funds availability and practical fraud risk management.
The Real Cost of Bad Data Isn’t Mistakes. It’s What Never Happens.
Every transaction processed, every check deposited, every loan application submitted generates data. Financial institutions sit on one of the richest data assets in any industry. But volume isn’t the same as value and bad data doesn’t just create errors. It creates silence where there should be signal. The real danger isn’t what goes wrong. It’s what never happens at all.
