News Desk · Fraud

OCC launches tool for community banks to report suspected payments fraud

At a meeting with community bankers in Minneapolis, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould announced a new way for community banks to report suspected payments fraud directly to an OCC fraud taskforce.

FraudUS7 Oct 20262 min read

On October 6, 2026, Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould met a panel of community bankers in Minneapolis to discuss efforts to combat financial fraud. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the US regulator of national banks, announced the meeting in a news release dated October 7, 2026.

According to the OCC, Gould announced a new tool that lets community bankers directly report suspected payments fraud at OCC-regulated institutions to an OCC fraud taskforce. In his published remarks, Gould said the tool lets bankers notify the OCC of suspected payments fraud in real time. The OCC also highlighted OCC Bulletin 2026-30, which covers FinCEN's guidance on Section 314(b) information sharing, the rule that lets financial institutions share information with each other to help detect fraud and money laundering.

The OCC release says non-mortgage fraud reports in Minnesota more than doubled from 2020 to 2024, and suspicious activity reports about check fraud rose nearly 300% over the same period. The release also cites Federal Trade Commission data for Minnesota in 2026: 15,601 fraud reports, $86.5 million in total losses and a median loss of $288.

In his remarks, Gould said Treasury launched investigations into four money services businesses over funds allegedly sent to Somalia, and issued a geographic targeting order for Hennepin and Ramsey Counties that requires banks and money transmitters to report additional information about funds transferred outside the United States. He also said FinCEN ranked Minnesota number one per capita for healthcare-related fraud.

Why it matters to AML professionals

Regulators are asking banks to report and share fraud information faster, not only through suspicious activity reports filed weeks later. Section 314(b) sharing lets an investigator confirm with another bank whether a counterparty or account is linked to fraud before funds move on. A geographic targeting order means banks and money transmitters in the named area must capture and report extra details, so frontline and monitoring teams need to know when one applies to them.

Red flags in this case

If this landed in your queue

  1. Confirm whether your institution is in scope of any geographic targeting order and capture the extra details it requires
  2. Use Section 314(b) to contact the counterparty bank when a payment appears linked to fraud, after checking your institution's 314(b) registration
  3. Document the fraud typology, amounts and timeline clearly so a SAR can be filed on time if needed
  4. Escalate suspected payments fraud quickly so recall or hold options can be considered before funds leave

Key terms

Section 314(b)
A US rule that lets registered financial institutions share information with each other about suspected money laundering or terrorist financing, with legal protection.
Geographic targeting order
A FinCEN order that requires businesses in a named area to collect and report extra information on certain transactions for a set time.

Interview angle

When would you use Section 314(b) information sharing during a fraud investigation?

Explain that it helps confirm whether a counterparty account at another institution is linked to fraud, mention checking that both institutions are registered, and note that any sharing is documented in the case file.

Sources

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Every fact in AMLift News Desk stories comes from an official source: a regulator, court, government gazette or the company's own filing.