Financial Crime - Long Reads, News, Articles & Research: Finextra

How to combat cybercrime with curated intelligence

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

How to combat cybercrime with curated intelligence

Cyberattacks targeting payments are surging. According to a recent Nilson report, by 2030 – when total payment card volume will surpass $79 trillion worldwide – the industry will lose an estimated $49 billion from card-not-present fraud. In an interview with Finextra, Rigo Van den Broeck, executive vice president, cybersecurity solutions, Masterca...

31 October 2025 /crime

Pig butchering, bitcoin, and the biggest crypto seizure in DoJ history: What it means for fintech

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Pig butchering, bitcoin, and the biggest crypto seizure in DoJ history: What it means for fintech

Last week, the Department of Justice filed the largest ever forfeiture action against $15 billion in bitcoin currently in US custody. A DoJ press release revealed that an indictment was unsealed in federal court that charged Cambodian national Chen Zhi, founder and chairman of Prince Holding Group, with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering...

20 October 2025 /crime

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What are social engineering scams?

Social engineering is the next cybersecurity battleground. In August 2025 alone, social engineering and multi-chain attacks drove a 15% crypto hack spike – with $163 million lost across 16 major breaches, targeting exchanges, DeFi protocols, and individual users. According to the on-chain sleuth ZachXBT, one investor lost 783 Bitcoin, worth $91 mi...

08 September 2025 /crime

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Can AI and quantum computing turn the tide?

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Can AI and quantum computing turn the tide?

Marked on 30 July, International Human Trafficking Day, otherwise known as World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, was established in response to a request for the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to host a meeting to counter the buying and selling of fellow humans in 2006. Fast forward to 2015, the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda...

30 July 2025 /crime

What Australia’s Confirmation of Payee means for the future of fraud prevention

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

What Australia’s Confirmation of Payee means for the future of fraud prevention

July 2025 saw Australian banks unveil their version of scam fighting technology Confirmation of Payee, allowing names to be matched to accounts and preventing customers from being tricked into sending funds to fraudsters. Forming part of the Scam-Safe Accord – a joint initiative of the Australian Banking Association (ABA) and the Customer Owned Ba...

17 July 2025 /crime

What are deepfakes? Understanding modern scams

Dominique Dierks Senior Content Manager at Finextra

What are deepfakes? Understanding modern scams

While AI and generative AI technology have made leaps in streamlining financial services over the last decade, fraudsters have made similar strides to use this technology for their advantage. Most nefariously, deepfakes becomes increasingly hard to differentiate from reality. So what is deepfake technology? And how is it affecting financial servic...

13 June 2025 /crime

How AML and fraud teams are collaborating to lower risk and fight financial crime

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

How AML and fraud teams are collaborating to lower risk and fight financial crime

Financial institution (FI) fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) teams are finally starting to work together! 80% of them, in fact. Plus, 53% of institutions' AML and financial crime departments share part or all of the systems they use, and 100% of the FIs surveyed use artificial intelligence (AI) as part of their arsenal across many different u...

21 May 2025 /crime

Global fraud challenges and strategies to combat them

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Global fraud challenges and strategies to combat them

Nacha event Smarter Faster Payments in New Orleans set aside an hour to discuss the importance of collaboration among financial institutions and regulators, the role of data sharing in improving fraud detection, and the need for robust fraud controls. This global panel highlighted South Africa’s fraud journey, that has focused on prevention, detec...

01 May 2025 /crime

Love, lies, and laundering: Unmasking the ‘pig butchering scam’ and how banks can fight back

Pallavi Kapale Senior Financial Crime Officer (2LOD) at Bank of China

Love, lies, and laundering: Unmasking the ‘pig butchering scam’ and how banks can fight back

According to the Council of Foreign Relations, numerous criminal organisations, primarily originating from China, have established sophisticated cyber centers in Southeast Asia that are specifically dedicated to conduct fraudulent activities. These call centers carry out a form of fraud known as ‘pig butchering’, combination of romance and invest...

14 April 2025 /crime

Hamish Monk Senior Reporter at Finextra

What is APP reimbursement?

In October 2024, the Authorised Push Payment (APP) victim reimbursement scheme came into effect, under rules from the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). The scheme means that Payment service providers (PSPs) are obliged to reimburse victims of APP fraud, up to £85,000 – and PSR asks that the value of reimbursement be split 50/50 between the sending...

11 March 2025 /crime

Trade-based financial crime: Criminal activity, complex supply chains, and coverage

Madhvi Sonia Head of Content at Finextra

Trade-based financial crime: Criminal activity, complex supply chains, and coverage

The Canadian Department of Finance revealed in November 2024 that they would be requesting changes to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorism Financing Act (PCMLTFA) so that it could “continuously monitor and adapt to new risks and threats”. Similar initiatives are being implemented in a number of countries as regulators realise the...

19 February 2025 /crime

Cybercrime landscape in 2025: Building a secure digital future

Michele Centemero EVP Services Europe at Mastercard

Cybercrime landscape in 2025: Building a secure digital future

As we step into 2025, the digital landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, unlocking opportunities for innovation, connection, and growth. Yet, alongside these advancements, the need for robust cybersecurity has become more critical than ever. Cybercriminals are adapting quickly, using emerging technologies like artificial intellige...

17 February 2025 /crime

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