Symposiums

Scams, ATO and Synthetic Identity: Understanding the Intersections Driving Today’s Fraud Landscape

Financial institutions are facing a surge in complex, interrelated fraud schemes—scams, account takeover (ATO) and synthetic identity fraud—that continue to evolve in sophistication and scale. This session brings these three areas together to offer a cohesive, practical view of how they interact, why they’re accelerating and what financial institutions can do to stay ahead. Participants will gain a clear, accessible explanation of today’s scam typologies and how criminals increasingly rely on ATO and synthetic identities to enable them. We’ll also share insights into how these fraud types intersect operationally and why understanding their convergence is critical for detection and prevention strategies. Finally, we’ll cover an overview of new resources, such as the recently released ATO Fraud Mitigation Toolkit, that institutions can use to strengthen fraud mitigation programs and enhance reporting consistency.

Impact of Fraud and Scams on Main Street: What Community Financial Institutions Are Seeing and What Comes Next

Fraud and scams continue to evolve at a pace that challenges even the most prepared financial institutions. This session provides a high level, strategic overview of today’s fraud landscape as it affects community financial institutions and their clients, with particular attention to check fraud within the broader payments ecosystem.

Drawing on real world trends, this presentation examines how fraud schemes span multiple payment rails, from checks to instant payments, and how bad actors are increasingly leveraging technology, including artificial intelligence, to scale and refine their attacks. The session also explores how community financial institutions are responding through changes in people, processes and technology, and where current regulatory expectations are headed.

Designed to set the stage for deeper technical discussions, this session will help payments professionals, risk leaders and compliance teams understand the scope of the problem, the direction of travel and the key questions financial institutions should be asking as fraud risks continue to shift.

The Growing Wave of Elder Abuse

According to the FBI’s 2024 IC3 Report, individuals aged 60 and older experienced losses totaling $4.9 billion, the highest among all age groups. Hear insights from a consultant who specializes in helping financial institutions prevent and mitigate elder financial exploitation. We’ll discuss common elder abuse scams and the red flags to watch for, as well as practical mitigation techniques financial institutions can use to reduce these crimes and limit potential liability.