US Treasury asks financial institutions to file scam center reports under new keyword

As noted by Tech Radar, the US Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an alert and data analysis requiring financial institutions to enhance their reporting on overseas scam centers targeting Americans.

FinCEN is introducing a new suspicious activity report keyword, "FIN-2026-SCAMCENTERS," to identify potential involvement of scam centers. This initiative stems from concerns over significant financial losses, with FinCEN's preliminary data suggesting approximately $12.7 billion linked to suspected digital asset investment scams between September 2023 and the end of 2025. About 1,300 institutions filed reports, with nearly 30% of those specifically mentioning the exploitation of the elderly.

FinCEN also requests additional details such as chat logs, phone numbers, social media handles, and wallet addresses to gain a clearer picture of scam operations. This effort aims to combat the fragmented nature of reporting, where individual institutions often only see a portion of a scam's lifecycle, hindering comprehensive investigations and recovery efforts.

Source: Tech Radar