Customer Education and Awareness

Periodic warnings or updates (e.g., scam alerts).

The FI might provide guidance about safe usage.

Education about recognized red flags, disclaimers, and user responsibilities.

• Inform customers about the risks of becoming money mules through job scams, social media offers, or unsolicited "financial management" roles.
• Encourage customers to report suspicious offers or unusual fund requests.

Proactively communicate with personal shoppers, small-scale Daigou operators, and their customers about import regulations, customs duties, foreign exchange rules, and the risks of inadvertently facilitating money laundering. Encourage transparent disclosure of purchase volumes and origins of funds to reinforce compliance with cross-border transaction requirements.

Distribute targeted advisories to older or more vulnerable customers about common call-center and telemarketing fraud schemes. Encourage them to verify service providers before making payments or sharing sensitive data. Provide channels for reporting suspected scam calls or suspicious payment requests.

Provide focused guidance to customers expecting inbound transfers, advising them to verify that any received deposit matches the identity, jurisdiction, and amount of the known sender. Encourage immediate reporting of partial or substituted credits from unrecognized sources so the institution can investigate potential cuckoo smurfing attempts.

Warn customers about the risks of unknowingly participating in smurfing or cuckoo smurfing. Advise them to never accept or transfer funds on behalf of others without a legitimate reason, and encourage immediate reporting if approached for repeated small deposit schemes that disguise larger illicit transactions.

Regularly educate account holders about phishing tactics, social engineering, and best practices, such as using strong passwords and secure connections, to safeguard their credentials. Encourage the immediate reporting of suspicious emails, text messages, or unauthorized account changes. By minimizing credential theft, institutions lower the risk of criminals successfully compromising accounts to launder funds.

Distribute targeted guidance to customers involved in informal rotating savings or credit associations. Advise them on financial crime risks, highlight the importance of transparent recordkeeping, and clarify the potential liabilities for misusing group funds. Encourage the use of basic documentation and formal channels to reduce the anonymity that criminals exploit.

Provide clear guidance and materials highlighting the risks of engaging with unlicensed real estate brokers, including potential legal liabilities and exposure to illicit fund flows. Advise customers to verify broker credentials through official registries or regulatory bodies prior to finalizing transactions.

• Educate mobile payment users on the risks of granting third parties access to their accounts or devices.
• Clarify legal obligations around reporting suspicious activity.
• Encourage secure handling of login credentials.
• Promote active monitoring of account activity to reduce misuse by launderers.

Run targeted outreach campaigns via social media, email, and account login prompts to warn customers about false job ads and romance or friend-based schemes that request the use of bank accounts. Provide clear reporting channels for customers approached by suspicious recruiters.

Run tailored campaigns warning customers about social media schemes that promise easy income for forwarding funds. Emphasize the legal implications of acting as a mule, provide tips for verifying legitimate job offers, and encourage the reporting of dubious social media recruiters.

Provide clear guidance and alerts to customers on how to identify phony job offers or urgent service requests that ask for personal bank account usage. Highlight signs such as newly registered domains, unverified employer information, or requests for confidential financial details. Encourage immediate reporting and verification of suspicious opportunities to prevent unwitting money mule activity.

Develop targeted campaigns, such as in-app notifications and website alerts, to explicitly warn customers about romance scams that request urgent transfers or secrecy. Highlight red flags like multiple incoming payments from unrelated parties, vague explanations for fund movements, or emotional pressure tied to online relationships. This educates potential targets and reduces the likelihood of clients becoming unwitting romance mules.

• Provide targeted warnings and concise guidance on fraudulent job offers that require individuals to use personal accounts for third-party funds.
• Explain legitimate employment practices.
• Highlight the legal risks of serving as unwitting money mules for fake employers.

Provide targeted alerts and guidance highlighting common fraud tactics, such as bogus charitable drives or advanced-fee scams. Educate business clients on recognizing red flags for false invoicing or sham delivery claims, and encourage immediate reporting of suspicious requests. By proactively informing customers about typical fraud indicators, financial institutions reduce opportunities for fraudsters to generate illicit proceeds through deceptive solicitations.

Inform and remind customers, including corporate account holders, about deepfake scams and the importance of verifying large or urgent transfer requests. Provide specific guidance on confirming identity through known official channels or multiple points of contact before complying with unusual instructions.

Provide targeted alerts, educational materials, and proactive outreach to warn customers about common advance fee scam tactics, such as unsolicited promises of large returns if fees are paid upfront. Encourage customers to verify requests and notify the institution when approached with such schemes to reduce unwitting participation in 419 fraud channels.

Educate prospective investors about typical rug pull warning signs, such as anonymous or unverifiable development teams, unrealistic return promises, sudden liquidity removals, and abrupt disappearance of official communication channels. Provide easily accessible guidance to help customers recognize and avoid fraudulent crypto schemes.

Provide targeted educational campaigns and explicit warnings about romance or friendship-based investment solicitations that direct victims to unregulated or newly established digital platforms. Highlight typical Pig Butchering red flags such as unrealistic profits, abrupt requests for more funds after small 'test' withdrawals, and pressure to use Bitcoin ATMs or decentralized exchanges. By equipping customers with clear warning signs, institutions reduce the likelihood of large-scale fraudulent transfers.

• Educate customers on the dangers of unsolicited investment offers.
• Emphasize the importance of verifying the legitimacy of digital platforms.
• Encourage skepticism towards promises of high returns with minimal risk.
• Alert customers to the tactics used by fraudsters, such as urgency and secrecy.
• Promote the use of secure and regulated financial channels.

Warn prospective contributors about typical red flags in token sales, such as stolen or plagiarized whitepapers, aggressive marketing with unrealistic promises, and direct requests for private keys. Encourage verifying official channels, team credentials, and code audits before investing.

Proactively inform potential timeshare sellers, especially those identified through account ownership of vacation properties, about common resale or exit scams. Advise them to verify real estate licenses, be cautious of repeated fee requests, and confirm that promised buyers actually exist before making any payments.

Deploy targeted awareness campaigns and tailored advisories explaining how fraudsters pose as legitimate lotteries to request upfront payments. Advise customers to:

• Verify any 'prize notifications.'
• Avoid secrecy or surrendering personal details.
• Report suspicious demands for 'lottery fees.'

Proactively inform customers about the hallmarks of investment fraud, including secretive unregistered offerings, exaggerated returns, and pressuring sales tactics. Encourage potential investors to verify credentials with regulatory bodies and to be skeptical of unsolicited proposals or high-pressure promotions.

Educate corporate and SME clients on common vendor impersonation tactics by providing specific examples of spoofed email domains, invoice tampering, and payment diversion attempts. Encourage them to establish clear internal checks for any unexpected invoice changes, confirm via official phone channels, and maintain consistent oversight of supplier details.