March – May 2025 Archives

March – May 2025, Practical Solutions, Tech Scope, Understanding AI

Predicting the Future: LLMs in AML Regulation

March 19, 2025 /Leave a comment

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI)―especially large language models (LLMs)―has the potential to reshape industries through advanced language understanding and pattern recognition. In anti-money laundering (AML) compliance, LLMs can enhance transaction monitoring, improve risk assessment and automate report generation, program governance and investigations. Financial institutions (FIs) use...

AFC Challenges, March – May 2025

🤑Smileys to 💉Syringes: Deciphering Emojis and Slang in Illicit🍁Drug Sales

March 19, 2025 /1 Comment

Cole Millsap preferred to text his clients when he had drugs available. Customers saw him as their go-to person for fentanyl, heroin and other drugs. The 22-year-old Millsap eked out a living selling dime bags. Unfortunately for Millsap, one of his clients took just 0.4...

Career Guidance, March – May 2025

AI’s Potential Impact on AFC Careers

March 19, 2025March 19, 2025 /Leave a comment

I thought writing this article was going to be simple. I was going to profess my love for the immeasurable potential AI has and its ability to make our lives easier, to make our work more productive, and to create new jobs―with titles we cannot...

Compliance, March – May 2025, Practical Solutions

SAR Optimization for Financial Institutions

March 19, 2025March 21, 2025 /Leave a comment

The first two articles in this series, published in the December 2024-February edition of ACAMS Today and on ACAMSToday.org respectively, focused on suspicious activity report (SAR) optimization for law enforcement (LE)―how to determine the most valuable SARs from an LE standpoint from a seemingly endless...

Career Guidance, March – May 2025

The Rise of the Fraudulent Career Services Professional

March 19, 2025 /Leave a comment

Job seekers today are learning a tough lesson: Not every connection request is a compliment, and not every direct message deserves a response. If job hunting was not already difficult enough, there is a new threat lurking in the virtual corridors of professional networking sites―turning...

AFC Policy, Europe Express, March – May 2025, Understanding AI

AI in AFC

March 19, 2025 /Leave a comment

Among the most widely discussed topics today are the opportunities provided by artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency and to reduce costs. This also stands true for anti-financial crime (AFC) processes. Know your customer and transaction monitoring processes work with large amounts of data. Because...

March – May 2025, Tech Scope

The Crypto Industry Does Not Hinder Law Enforcement

March 19, 2025 /Leave a comment

Human history shows that civilization, at least at the beginning and for the majority, fears new technologies and oftentimes takes a skeptical and negative approach to innovation. Generally speaking, there is much fearmongering around us, coming from the media, politics and “traditional” businesses. This is...

Europe Express, March – May 2025, Sanctions, World Digest

Instant Payments: A Sanctions Revolution or Burden

March 19, 2025March 21, 2025 /Leave a comment

Ten seconds―that is all it takes to break payment barriers across European borders under the European Union’s (EU) new Instant Payment Regulation (IPR). Entered into force in April 2024, it requires all payment service providers (PSPs) to receive instant payments as of January 9, 2025,...

March – May 2025, Member Spotlight

Steve Gurdak, CAMS—Virginia, USA

March 19, 2025March 26, 2025 /Leave a comment

Steve Gurdak serves as the group manager for the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area’s Northern Virginia Financial Initiative (NVFI). The NVFI was created to be a model for suspicious activity report (SAR) review teams. Gurdak has been dubbed “the godfather of SAR review teams”...

March – May 2025, Member Spotlight

Dustin Eaton, CAMS-RM, CGSS, CAFS—Utah, USA

March 19, 2025 /Leave a comment

Dustin J. Eaton is an accomplished executive in risk management and fraud prevention, bringing nearly two decades of expertise across the financial services landscape, including traditional banking and fintech. With a focus on fraud detection, compliance, anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing and regulatory oversight, Eaton has built...