WASHINGTON—More than $200-billion in suspicious activities were identified by financial institutions during the calendar year 2021, according to a new report.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said its Financial Trend Analysis (FTA) on information linked to identity-related suspicious activity in BSA reports filed during 2021 found approximately 1.6 million reports (42%) related to identity, indicating $212 billion in suspicious activity.
The report, which is part of what FinCEN has previously referred to as its Identity Project, explores how bad actors exploit identity-related processes involved in processing transactions as well as opening and accessing accounts.
More Than 14 ‘Typologies’
FinCEN said it identified more than 14 “typologies” commonly indicated in identity-related BSA reports, saying the most frequently reported were fraud, false records, identity theft, third-party money laundering, and circumvention of verification standards.
“These top five typologies accounted for 88% of identity-related BSA reports and 74% of the total identity-related suspicious activity amount reported during calendar year 2021,” FinCEN stated.
The Trends
According to FinCEN, the trends found in the BSA reporting include:
- Although identity-related suspicious activity impacted all types of financial institutions, depository institutions filed the most identity-related BSA reports, around 54% of all identity-related filings.
- While most financial institutions in the identity-related BSA dataset reported impersonation as their top identity exploitation, money services businesses most often reported circumvention of verification.
- The report found that compromised credentials have a disproportionate financial impact as compared to other types of identity exploitation.
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