Blog Post

Lawmakers again spotlighted soaring fraud as banks warn defenses lag behind Trump’s new executive order mandates an aggressive, coordinated national anti-fraud strategy Banks should not rely on government alone; invest in advanced AI defenses On March 5, 2026, the industry saw banking executives appear in front of the United States House Committee on Financial Services…

Miami Gardens crew used stolen USPS arrow keys to steal, alter, and deposit checks Police uncovered $1.7M in stolen checks, drugs, weapons, and victim data after gunfire call The case underscores rising arrow-key mail theft, expanding check fraud risk nationwide Recently, we posted a blog on the topic of lower prison sentences for financial crimes…

Overall SAR filings fell 6% between 2024 to 2025 Check fraud SAR filings continue to dominate Flat “Other Fraud” SARs show fraud risk shifting, not disappearing For years, the industry relied on the American Bankers Association’s (ABA) Deposit Account Fraud Survey as the central source for fraud trends. However, with the last report being published back…

Check fraud is rising, and annuity checks are a prime target Large deposits trigger bank holds, especially for elderly clients Advisors can help by encouraging advance notice and electronic transfers Analysis of the types of checks being sold on the dark web and encrypted platforms like Telegrams reveals that some types of checks were seen…

AI-powered check fraud detection outperforms manual review and static rules-based systems Mid-range GPUs deliver strong fraud performance without unnecessary hardware expense Optimized AI and GPUs enable real-time, high-volume check fraud decisions With the surge of check fraud over the past decade, we have seen more and more financial institutions transition from traditional rules-based to AI-powered…

SEON survey shows 98% of organizations already embed AI in fraud, AML workflows Budgets for AI-driven fraud and AML tools are rising, but systems remain fragmented AI augments fraud and AML teams, automating volume while humans handle complex investigations In the recently published report entitled AI Reality Check, 2026 Fraud & AML Leaders Report, SEON…

Harsher bank-fraud sentences may deter some offenders, but evidence remains mixed Longer prison terms alone rarely change systemic incentives that make fraud profitable Strong oversight, rapid detection, and credible enforcement often outperform sentence length increases One often ignored factor that help drive the surge in check fraud is the fact that the punishment for committing…

Blank check stock is a critical upstream asset for check fraud Fraud rings mass-produce counterfeit checks using blank stock and digital tools Stronger controls around procurement and issuance can disrupt this fraud pipeline Blank check stock has become one of the easiest “upstream” tools for check fraudsters to obtain and weaponize, turning ordinary office supplies…

Performance-based incentives can motivate staff to detect check fraud and protect customers Incentives must be paired with strong training on schemes, red flags, and escalation Overly aggressive vigilance can hurt customer experience if legitimate checks face delays Solving the challenge of check fraud is not just an investment in technologies, it is an investment in…