Page 31 - Fall 2025 - Single Pages

FLOURISH

Battling the many faces

of fraud, together

“When community bankers alert their peers to a new

type of fraud or a rise in a particular form of attack,

they empower the community to act.”

When it comes to fraud, we are being hit delivering insights into what others are
on all fronts with scams that range from seeing and what has worked to prevent
the very basic to the most sophisticated. losses. It’s not just a forum for
We’re at this unique place in time where a understanding current threats; it delivers
bank needs both the technological tools to that ability to learn through others’
thwart AI-generated digital attacks and the firsthand experiences and makes fraud
knowledge to battle old-school check real.
washing and forgery schemes.
Yet, fighting fraud requires more than
REBECA It means that our mitigation strategies information alone, and ICBA’s core pillars
ROMERO must combine advanced monitoring with of advocacy, education and innovation
good old-fashioned gut instinct to help our support community banks in their risk
RAINEY teams and customers protect themselves mitigation. For instance, on the advocacy
ICBA President and CEO. and our banks. In short, we must educate side, we worked closely with the Federal
rebeca.romerorainey@icba.org our customers, prepare our teams, shore up Financial Institutions Examination Council
our digital defenses and monitor to ensure that when they phased out the
ACB is the ICBA transactions, all while continuing to run Cybersecurity Assessment Tool, there
Arkansas state affiliate.
the business of banking. were alternatives available. We offered a
webinar series highlighting solutions
It’s a lot in any environment. Fortunately, created in collaboration with regulators.
we are not alone. As a community of Our education offerings include prevention
community bankers, we have strength in training to teach staff the latest fraud
numbers.
identification and mitigation techniques.
Consider that one of the most powerful Our innovation work through our
tools in the fight against fraud is ThinkTECH program, solutions directory
information sharing. When community (solutions.icba.org) and Preferred Service
bankers alert their peers to a new type of Providers also empowers community
fraud or a rise in a particular form of banks to identify the latest fraud
attack, they empower the community to mitigation tools.
act. Supported by this firsthand Fraud prevention is a continuous battle,
knowledge, community bankers can but with ICBA, you are armed with the
prepare stronger defenses for their own information, tools and knowledge you
organizations. By sharing these stories and need to defend your bank. And with that
experiences, we help others learn and support bolstering your efforts, you are
prevent it from happening somewhere poised to win.
else.
That’s where ICBA Community Where I’ll be this month
(community.icba.org) comes into play. I’ll be hosting our leadership bankers for
Created as a secure platform for member fall committee meetings in San Antonio
communication, ICBA Community offers and speaking at the Western States
a way to disseminate information on fraud Director Education Foundation’s Annual
scams and tips for addressing them. It is Symposium for Community Bank
like having eyes and ears out there,
Directors.

Arkansas Community Banker | 31 | FALL 2025