US money laundering cases surge 168% as scams cost USD $6.5 billion

Confirmed money laundering cases at United States financial institutions rose by 168% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, according to a new report from BioCatch.

The research, drawing on information from more than 200 institutions serving over 245 million customers, reveals that financial crime, particularly money laundering and scams, continues to grow in both sophistication and frequency across the sector. Organised crime networks are cited as increasingly using so-called mule accounts to move the proceeds of these scams through the financial system.

The study finds that the overall volume of scams reported by US financial institutions remained steady between 2024 and 2025, but this rate is four times higher than levels reported two years ago. Tom Peacock, Director of Global Fraud Intelligence at BioCatch, said, "While our American customers reported more or less flat scam volumes between 2024 and 2025, that still represents a quadrupling of scams in the country from two years ago. Scams remain far-and-away the most prevalent and most costly fraud type in the U.S. The bulk of those losses come from investment scams, which the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Centre found cost Americans more than USD $6.5 billion last year. That number is sure to rise in 2025."

Investment scams continue to account for both the greatest average loss per victim and the highest total losses of any scam category in the US, the report states. Impersonation and purchase scams are identified as the most common types of fraud faced by individuals. Impersonation scams involve criminals posing as trusted figures to extract personal or financial information, while purchase scams see perpetrators offering non-existent goods or services to steal payment.

"I have long feared that the trifecta of fraud displacement from abroad, the rise and weaponization of advanced AI tools, and the complexity of the U.S. financial environment would combine to fuel an ever-expanding wave of successful scams against the American public," said Risk Insight Solutions' Donna Turner, former COO of the industry consortium behind the Zelle payments network and PaymentSource's Most Influential Woman in Payments. "Sadly, that reality is here. More must be done to combat this growing threat to our communities, our financial health, and our national security."

Mode of operations

The BioCatch research highlights that scammers are increasingly leveraging blockchain-based stablecoins as tools to transfer illicit proceeds. Rob Autrey, Director of Global Advisory for North America at BioCatch, commented, "Stablecoins and authorised push payments (APP) are now the twin engines of real-time money movement in the fraud and money laundering space. Stablecoins themselves aren't nefarious, but they frequently serve as the preferred getaway vehicle for scammers, allowing them to realize the proceeds of their crimes."

The report also details a case study in which behavioural analysis techniques are used to identify and block bots in real time during account opening processes, helping institutions prevent fraud before it occurs.

Differences by institution

Banks and mid-sized credit unions in the US are being targeted differently, the report finds. For credit unions, there has been a 55% rise in fraud events involving remote access Trojans (RAT), now comprising 15% of all fraud in this segment. Colin Parsons, Head of Fraud Product Strategy at Nasdaq Verafin, stated, "Fraud will always find the path of least resistance, and with the rise of AI, fraudsters are able to leverage technology that introduces scams at a speed and scale never seen before. AI also helps scammers easily tailor and customize their efforts to defraud consumers, mimicking the level of outreach and service members have come to expect from their credit unions."

Changing fraud landscape

The research finds that although account opening fraud attempts dropped by 18% in the first half of 2025, account takeover (ATO) attempts went up by 13%. Notably, attempted ATO incidents using remote access Trojans increased by 50%. The use of stolen devices in fraud schemes is on the rise, and early signs indicate that malware, which has been prevalent in other parts of the world, may be starting to impact US institutions more significantly.

BioCatch also observed that nearly one in five fraud incidents reported by credit unions relates to card activity, indicating that payment card fraud remains a prominent challenge for mid-market financial institutions.

The findings underscore not only the evolving complexity and volume of fraudulent activity in the US but also the pressures financial institutions face in addressing these risks on multiple technological and operational fronts.