To reduce the risk of banking fraud, use a unique password and multifactor authentication (MFA), sign in only through a known bank app or saved address, and independently verify unexpected payment requests. Never share a one-time code with an unsolicited caller. Check your accounts regularly and contact your bank immediately if you spot an unauthorized transaction.
How banking fraud commonly happens
Banking fraud includes more than stolen passwords. The methods addressed here include account takeover, phishing and impersonation, business email compromise (BEC), and fraudulent wire instructions. The FBI’s November 25, 2025 alert says IC3 had received more than 5,100 account-takeover complaints, with losses exceeding $262 million, since January 2025. That is a dated count of reported account-takeover complaints and losses—not a rate or a total for all banking fraud. FBI account-takeover alert
Account takeover and fake bank support
A scammer may call, text, or email claiming to have detected suspicious activity. The goal may be to get your password or a one-time passcode, or to direct you to a fake login page. With access to your credentials, a criminal may enter the account, reset its credentials, and move money. Search advertisements can also impersonate legitimate businesses and lead to fraudulent login pages. The FBI warns: “Companies generally do not contact you to ask for your username, password, or OTP.” FBI account-takeover alert
Payment redirection and BEC
A criminal may spoof an email address or gain access to a real mailbox, then insert fraudulent payment instructions into a legitimate invoice conversation. The FBI describes schemes involving vendor invoices and real-estate wires. Treat a new account number or a change in payment procedure as a high-risk request, even if the message appears to come from someone you know. FBI business email compromise guidance
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Steps consumers can take to reduce risk
Secure account access
- Use a unique, hard-to-guess password for every financial account. If one password is exposed, unique credentials help prevent it from unlocking other accounts.
- Turn on MFA or two-factor authentication when your bank offers it. Never read a one-time code to someone who called or messaged unexpectedly, even if they claim to be bank staff.
- Use your bank’s official app or type a known web address, or open a saved bookmark. Avoid login links in unexpected messages and sponsored search results. MFA cannot protect you if you enter your credentials on a fake site.
- Share less personal information publicly. Details such as birthdays, family relationships, schools, or pet names can help attackers guess passwords or security answers.
Verify contact and payment requests
- If a call or message claims there is fraud on your account, end the interaction and call the bank using the number on your card or statement, or an official website you locate independently. Caller ID is not proof of identity.
- Before sending a wire or changing payment instructions, confirm the request and the account details through a separate trusted channel, such as a phone number you already have on file or an in-person check. Do not use contact details supplied in the suspicious message.
- For a business or household wire, independently verify any change to account details or payment procedure before sending money.
Monitor accounts and respond to exposure
- Review balances and transactions regularly. Contact your bank immediately about unauthorized withdrawals, wires, spending, or missing deposits.
- If you think your credentials were exposed, change them promptly and replace any reused password on other accounts.
A password manager may make it easier to maintain unique passwords, but the guidance cited here does not compare or endorse particular products. A FIDO2-compatible security key is another possible authentication option only if your bank supports it; check the bank’s current compatibility information before buying. A security key is not a guarantee against every form of phishing or fraud.
Small-business safeguards for vendor payments
Invoice fraud often exploits the routine and urgency of real payment workflows. Build verification into the process rather than relying on employees to spot a convincing email.
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- Set a rule that a new payment destination or change to vendor banking details must be confirmed through a separate, trusted contact method already on file—not by replying to the email requesting the change.
- Confirm both the identity of the requester and the account details before authorizing a wire. A familiar-looking email thread can be spoofed or compromised.
- Keep the confirmation and approval process documented so staff know whom to contact and what to do when a request cannot be verified.
- If a payment instruction appears suspicious or a wire has been sent, contact your bank promptly and ask it to contact the receiving institution where relevant.
Controls financial institutions should consider
Authentication is one layer in a broader risk-management program. FFIEC guidance advises institutions to assess access risks for customers, employees, and third parties, use layered security, and recognize the limits of single-factor authentication. The FFIEC’s 2021 announcement says its guidance “supports a financial institution’s adoption of layered security and underscores weaknesses in single-factor authentication.” This is risk-management guidance, not a claim that one specified factor or control is mandated for every bank. FFIEC authentication guidance announcement
Assess the full access and payment path
- Use risk-based access decisions and layered authentication, including MFA or controls of equivalent strength where appropriate.
- Review customer, employee, and third-party access, and assess account-recovery and help-desk password-reset workflows. Social engineering can target staff who can reset credentials.
- Monitor, log, and report unusual activity to help detect and investigate incidents. Review payment-channel controls as well as customer sign-in.
- Use secure configurations, security updates, user education, and vendor controls for email systems. These measures complement rather than replace authentication.
The interagency guidance discusses these operational measures, including secure credential-reset processes, staff training, monitoring, and logging. FFIEC interagency authentication guidance
Apply FTC Safeguards Rule requirements only where they cover the institution
The FTC Safeguards Rule applies to covered financial institutions within the FTC’s jurisdiction; it is not a universal bank compliance rule. The FTC guide describes a written information-security program proportionate to an entity’s size, complexity, activities, and the sensitivity of the information it handles. Its measures include risk assessment and reassessment, access reviews, an inventory of data and systems, encryption, app evaluations, MFA, an incident-response plan, and regular program reporting. FTC Safeguards Rule guidance
The FTC says the Rule was amended in 2023 and that breach-notification requirements took effect in May 2024. Covered institutions must report qualifying notification events involving at least 500 consumers’ unencrypted information as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after discovery. Confirm the institution’s coverage and the current legal text before relying on this for compliance decisions. FTC Safeguards Rule guidance
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What to do if you suspect banking fraud
- Contact your bank immediately. Report the unauthorized transfer or account access and ask it to secure the account. For a fraudulent wire or transfer, request a recall or reversal and ask what documentation or indemnity letter is needed. A prompt request may help reduce or eliminate losses, but recovery is not assured. FBI account-takeover alert
- Report a fraudulent wire to IC3 as well as your bank. Include accurate banking and incident details. FBI account-takeover alert
- Change exposed credentials. Reset the affected password and any reused passwords; revoke other compromised secrets or credentials where relevant.
- Preserve evidence. Keep relevant emails, texts, phone numbers, URLs, payment instructions, and transfer details for the bank and investigators. The FBI asks for information about impersonated institutions, contact details, websites or software, and accounts involved. FBI account-takeover alert
- For a spoofed or compromised business email, notify the bank promptly and ask it to contact the receiving institution. FBI business email compromise guidance
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