Brick By Brick

There is no silver bullet for stopping fraud. But there are plenty of ways to make life more difficult for fraudsters. October's stories range from proposed bans on SIM boxes to crackdowns on scam networks and action against money mule operations—highlighting that every link removed weakens the chain.

1. Scams Move from the Inbox to the Text Screen

PYMNTS Intelligence reports that first contact by text message rose 35% since September 2025 to 12% of scam victims, while email fell 30% to 13%.

The data also showed how fast scams can be once in progress: 43% of victims made or authorized a payment within one hour of first contact, and 63% did so within a day. The shock follows just as quickly: more than one third of victims realized their money was gone within 30 minutes of the first transaction.

2. INTERPOL Warns AI Is Erasing the Red Flags of Scams

Resisting pressure and taking time to verify suspicious requests is also the message behind INTERPOL's new public awareness campaign. Under the slogan “Wait. Validate. Don’t take the bait,” it warns of the growing use of deepfakes in scams, from impersonation to investment fraud.

INTERPOL argues that public understanding of how deepfakes can be used in crime remains low. At the same time, AI is erasing familiar red flags of a scam, such as spelling mistakes, inconsistent branding, or clumsy formatting. People now need to learn how to recognize scams in the age of AI—and that's a whole new game.

3. The Revolut Breach Started with a Stolen Password

Last month, we covered the Revolut breach in which fraudsters obtained customer data by submitting fraudulent information requests from a legitimate government agency email domain. New reporting suggests the request originated from a government account compromised through a stolen password, giving attackers access to a trusted channel rather than merely the appearance of one.

The finding reinforces a simple lesson: a government email address is no more proof of authorization than a police badge is a master key. Even official-looking requests need zero-trust verification.

4. Scammers Exploit Bank Help Desk in $23.8 Million Wire Fraud Cases

Two lawsuits allege that scammers manipulated First Horizon Bank's help desk into issuing replacement security tokens, enabling $23.8 million in unauthorized wire transfers. In both cases, attackers impersonated legitimate customers, claimed to have new phones, and used the bank's authentication reset process to gain account access.

Much like in the Revolut case, exploiting weak security processes and manipulating the people behind them through impersonation remains a tried-and-tested tactic for fraudsters.

5.  UK Ombudsman Ruling Could Trigger More Fraud Compensation Claims

The UK's Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has ruled that investors who lost money when jeweler Vashi collapsed in 2023 can receive compensation under an APP scam reimbursement scheme. Banks and the FOS had previously rejected claims, treating them as investments gone wrong rather than fraud.

The FOS has now reversed that position in a case involving a couple who lost around £100,000. The ombudsman found that NatWest should have done more to identify warning signs, particularly after two transfers totaling £50,000 were sent to Vashi within 24 hours.

The ruling reflects a broader shift in APP reimbursement: liability is increasingly tied to what banks should have seen in the payment journey, even when they couldn’t have known the full story behind it.

6. US Congress Takes Aim at the Infrastructure Behind Scam Calls

Two US congressmen have introduced the Stop SIM Box Scams Act, which would ban the manufacture, import, sale, lease, advertisement, ownership, and operation of SIM boxes.

SIM boxes help fraudsters disguise overseas scam operations as local callers and allow them to send scam texts and place calls at industrial scale. The bill—also backed by the telecommunications industry—reflects growing efforts to dismantle the infrastructure behind large-scale scam operations. 

7. Canada Launches a Bank-Telco Fraud Intelligence Exchange

Meanwhile, across the border, Canada's new Cross-Sector Anti-Fraud Exchange (CSAFE) brings together major banks and telecom providers to share confirmed fraud intelligence. The initiative, developed from a pilot between CIBC and Rogers Communications, now involves nine major Canadian financial and telecom companies, all contributing to the same fraud database. 

The goal is to stop fraud rings from working their way down a list of banks and carriers one at a time. As Tech Insider puts it, fraud “behaves like one continuous attack that moves from a hijacked phone number to a drained bank account in the same afternoon.” 

8. Tech Giants Join Police to Dismantle West African Scam Rings

Scam networks across West Africa have taken a major hit following an international operation led by the UK's National Crime Agency. The crackdown, involving 15 tech companies and law enforcement agencies from 10 countries, led to the removal of more than 3.7 million fraudulent social media accounts and the rescue of 117 people trafficked into scam compounds.

With Meta, Microsoft, and Coinbase involved, the operation also highlights the role technology platforms can play in disrupting scam networks that rely on their services.

9.  Fraud Might Have Cost Older Americans Almost $120 Billion 

The FTC issued its latest report to Congress on protecting older adults. The data shows that older Americans remain particularly vulnerable to fraud, with total reported fraud losses increasing about fivefold between 2020 and 2025.

Investment scams remain the costliest form of fraud in this age group: reported losses jumped 42% in 2025 to more than $1 billion, and social media increasingly serves as the first point of contact. Older Americans are also less likely than younger adults to report losing money to fraud, but more likely to report fraud attempts without financial loss. As a result, the FTC estimates that while reported losses totaled $3 billion, fraud may have cost older Americans as much as $119.5 billion in 2025.

10. One Money Mule Network, 15,000 People

Oleg Korniev, a Ukrainian-Russian national, has pleaded guilty to helping run Your Mule Cashout (YMCO), a money laundering operation that involved more than 15,000 money mules across the US. Korniev ran his mule team much like any other manager: hiring and firing employees, rewarding good performance, handing out penalties, and helping set the rules for how the operation was run. Prosecutors say the network processed millions of dollars stolen by cybercriminals from hundreds of bank accounts.

The scale of the operation shows just how organized money mule networks have become. With thousands of recruits and years of activity, YMCO had the infrastructure to move stolen funds on an industrial scale. Detecting and disrupting mule networks like these is becoming an increasingly important part of banks' efforts to tackle fraud.

Banking Threat Bulletin highlights the stories shaping global fraud prevention and customer protection. Stay informed. Strengthen trust. Protect your customers.