FinCEN Says Stopping Crypto Scams Means Catching How Customers Fund Them
The most useful fraud signal in a cryptocurrency investment scam may not be the cryptocurrency transaction. It may be the customer’s balance sheet deteriorating in real time. That is among the key takeaways from a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) analysis released Thursday (Sept. 3), which examined 33,904 Bank Secrecy Act reports filed between September […] The post FinCEN Says…
FinCEN's analysis of Bank Secrecy Act reports between September 2023 and December 2025 revealed that financial institutions may have an advantage in preventing crypto investment scams. By detecting a customer's financial deterioration, such as liquidating retirement accounts, taking out loans, and transferring funds, institutions can potentially identify the early stages of a scam.
While crypto platforms can easily see where scam money is going, banks might be able to identify what customers are doing to obtain that money. Rather than solely focusing on detecting suspicious transactions, the opportunity lies in recognizing the financial trajectory leading up to the fraudulent activity. By analyzing combinations of seemingly ordinary financial decisions, banks can identify extraordinary risks associated with authorized payment scams.
Written by urgent.news from PYMNTS's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
