Scams Led to $486 Billion in Losses in 2023

Worldwide losses from scams and bank fraud schemes totaled $485.6 billion in 2023, according to a report from Nasdaq.

The 2024 Global Financial Crime Report described financial crimes as a “multi-trillion dollar problem” with consumers and businesses losing money from impersonation, confidence, advance fee, employment, and cyber-enabled scams, as well as bank fraud losses from payments, check and credit card fraud.

In the Americas, consumers and businesses lost $151.1 billion to scams, including $102 billion in payments fraud. Check fraud resulted in $21 billion in losses in the Americas, representing 80% of check fraud losses worldwide in 2023.

The report found that in 2023, banks globally faced $442 billion in projected losses from payments, check and credit card fraud.

Nasdaq said that while financial institutions place a high priority on financial crime prevention, they face significant challenges in keeping pace with burdensome and at times conflicting regulatory obligations.

Banks are increasing their investment in anti-financial crime programs to ensure they meet regulatory obligations, while also navigating evolving fraud threats and an increasingly complex financial crime landscape.

The report, based on a cross-industry survey of 209 anti-financial crime professionals from bank and nonbank institutions, found nearly half of anti-financial crime professionals surveyed cited a lack of adequate resources and technology to fight financial crime.

This was despite 75% of respondents reporting an increased investment in headcount in 2023 compared to the previous year.

Respondents also highlighted the importance of industry collaboration and information sharing as a defense against financial crime threats. They also stressed the need for regulatory guidance for public-private partnerships, as well as private-private information sharing between banks.