Fraud

The types of fraud occurring in the financial services industry, and the complications that have arisen in countering fraud, are constantly evolving. Unfortunately, the term “fraud” has become shorthand to refer to a host of illicit activities, including when a fraudster initiates a transaction without the consent of the consumer or when a scammer tricks a consumer into initiating a payment transaction. Industry continues to work tirelessly to counter fraud, particularly fraud related to instant peer-to-peer payment platforms, check fraud, and synthetic identity fraud.

The increasingly prevalent and sophisticated methods of fraud used by criminals, many of whom operate under state-sponsored or organized crime rings, result in harm to consumers. Banks have been on the front lines fighting fraud, dedicating billions of dollars and thousands of hours each year to address fraud and scams. These industry efforts include working to prevent, detect, and mitigate scams through consumer education. They also include deploying advanced technologies to monitor, authenticate, and reduce risk, as well as consistently adapting customer protection measures, including real-time safety notifications and alerts, to address the changing nature of these threats. However, banks cannot address every component of fraud alone.