Treasury Expands Anti-Fraud Defenses Through Enhanced Bank Information Sharing
Financial fraud has become one of the most costly and disruptive threats facing consumers and businesses across the globe today. In the United States alone, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that Americans lost a record $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, an increase of more than $3 billion from the previous year, with approximately 3 million fraud reports submitted to the agency within the calendar year.1 Meanwhile, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) documented more than one million cybercrime complaints resulting in nearly $21 billion in reported losses, marking the first time ever that annual losses have exceeded the $20 billion threshold.2 This uptick can be directly attributed to number of avenues of exposure to financial fraud growing at exponential rates in line with the technological golden age we remain mired on. Investment scams, crypto ploys, email compromise schemes, impersonation fraud, and technology support scams, amongst countless others, account for some of the most devastating financial impacts facing American consumers today who have unknowingly fallen victim to these illicit activities. Yet these staggering figures capture only the tip of the iceberg with respect to the damages seen from these crimes. As fraud networks become increasingly sophisticated and grow transnationally, international policymakers and financial institutions alike are being forced to reconsider whether traditional anti-fraud approaches remain sufficient to counter these growing trends.
As a result of this phenomenon, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the bureau of the U.S. government tasked with analyzing information to combat domestic and international financial crime such as money laundering and terrorism financing; recently announced updated guidance under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act representing a potentially significant shift in the government’s efforts to combat financial fraud. The updated guidance clarifies that financial institutions may share information with one another not only regarding traditional, larger-scale concerns such as money laundering and terrorist financing, but also in connection with suspected fraud schemes that increasingly target the average citizen.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the new guidance as part of a broader strategy focused on stopping fraudulent activity before losses escalate. “Financial institutions are often the first to see suspicious activity in real time,” Bessent stated, emphasizing that banks and other institutions increasingly require effective tools to intervene quickly when red flags emerge. Treasury’s updated position on data sharing amongst FI’s reflects the growing recognition that, in most cases, no single institution possesses enough information to recognize the full scope of crime threats. As such, modern financial crime prevention depends heavily upon collaboration rather than isolated (and often retroactive) responses. FinCEN’s updated guidance attempts to address this reality by authorizing the sharing of information related to suspected fraud. The updated fact sheet released on June 12th identifies specific categories of information that may now be exchanged, including online indicators such as Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, video surveillance materials, patterns involving newly established payees followed by large transfers, suspicious login activity originating from suspicious geographic locations, and repeated use of similar identifying information across multiple accounts.3
These examples suggest that Treasury increasingly views fraud prevention through the lens of intelligence gathering and network analysis rather than solely through traditional compliance reporting and present a boon to an area in desperate need of reform. To date, major financial institutions have repeatedly argued that current regulatory barriers can inadvertently impede their ability to detect interconnected fraud schemes. The financial services industry has long advocated for a more “risk-based” anti-money laundering framework that allows resources to be directed toward genuinely suspicious activity instead of burdensome procedural requirements. The Treasury itself noted that improved information sharing can support efforts to modernize national anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing exploits by enabling institutions to focus attention on higher-risk activities; efforts that have largely been backed by the Trump Administration over the past two years. All told, the Treasury indicated that the updated guidance forms part of a “whole-of-government” effort coordinated through the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, given its development into a major economic threat with its rise in prevalence.
When it comes to the sharing of sensitive customer information however, the new initiative does raise significant data-privacy questions. While the updated Section 314(b) contains safeguards limiting participation to registered financial institutions operating under specified conditions, expanding information exchange requires far more careful oversight to ensure consumer information is handled appropriately. Other critics have speculated that broader sharing could ultimately lead to over-reporting, increased compliance requirements for already-strained financial institutions, and could also create challenges for customers whose legitimate activities might trigger more scrutiny. Proponents have countered that existing safeguards preventing against some of these aspects should remain intact, and that failing to facilitate such collaboration leaves institutions ill-equipped to confront increasingly sophisticated fraud networks. One of the other undeniable plus-sides of this initiative for banks is that enhancing information-sharing represents a way in which FI’s can improve their crime detection capabilities without substantially altering the customer experience.
Ultimately, an interagency approach to fighting fraud recognizes that financial crime prevention covers a multitude of sectors including cybersecurity, consumer protection, and law enforcement to better defend our national security objectives. With their latest update, the Treasury’s message is clear: in an era of rapidly evolving financial crime, information itself has become one of the most important tools in protecting consumers, businesses, and the integrity of the American and international financial systems.
Citations
1. Federal Trade Commission. FTC Testifies before the Joint Economic Committee on Agency’s Efforts to Combat Fraud. 25 March 2026.
2. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crime Complaint Center. 2025 Internet Crime Report. 2026.
3. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Section 314(b) Fact Sheet. U.S. Department of the Treasury. 12 June 2026.