Welcome and Kick-Off - The Present and Future of FinCrime Investigations

To know where we're going, we have to understand where we've been… and perhaps more importantly, where we are currently. This old adage holds true in the investigative arena. Effective investigations in the public and private sectors remain at the heart of fincrime detection and prevention, even as tech disruption, new financial products and emerging criminal typologies threaten to upend investigative work. In this session, experts provide their take on some of the most pressing questions facing fincrime investigators - how is the skillset of an investigator or analyst changing? What's required for individuals and organizations to adapt and thrive in a more data-driven, automated and real-time financial world? And what does the future hold?

Researching Weapons Proliferators - Top 3 Tips and Techniques

Investigating proliferation finance takes patience, persistence and the right tools and knowledge at your disposal. In this session, an expert provides insights and guidance on how to conduct investigations into individuals, organizations and transactions suspected to be tied to financing weapons of mass destruction. You'll gain perspective into how proliferation finance networks operate, key suspicious indicators to look out for, and resources to add to your investigative arsenal.

Harnessing Social Media Intelligence in Financial Crime Investigation and Compliance

Participants will learn how to discover intelligence by investigating popular social media platforms and search engines as well as gain knowledge of new social media platforms on the horizon. During the training, you will review social media pages, learn how hashtags and images can play a role in a case, and identify further leads. Participants will learn how to open every aspect of social media to explore where key information can be hidden or overlooked. You will identify which search engine to use, when to use it, and what results you should expect from each by conducting hands-on advanced internet and social media searches. We will also evaluate and review several free and fee-based resources on the market for locating unique information and monitoring social media. Focus will be on popular platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram, among others.

Midday Break at the Coffee Bar with Latte Artist, Michael Breach

Michael Breach is a world-renowned artist who is credited for pioneering in creating beautifully accurate portraiture and complex images in latte art! In 2012, While working as a barista he experimented and invented his own techniques and applied his lifelong artistic talent to push the limits of latte art. His creations quickly attracted a massive social media following and worldwide press being featured on Bravo, Food Network, Good Morning America, Marie Claire, The Dr. Oz Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show and Us Weekly. Michael’s art makes for a truly unique and Insta-worthy experience you won't want to miss!

How to Transition from Traditional Compliance to Cryptocurrency Investigations- Tips on Moving from Investigating Fiat to Investigating Crypto

If you've ever wondered "Is there more to life than just investigating fiat transactions inside a traditional financial institutions (TRADFI)?!!" Then you won't want to miss this session from Pamela Clegg, VP of Financial Investigations at Ciphertrace. In this 30 minute session, Pamela will share her story of how she transitioned and how you can best equip yourself now for a crypto career in the future.

Ask the Experts: Money Mules

As money mules have become more prevalent over the last several years, the challenges associated with them have been exacerbated by the pandemic. Over 90 percent of money mule transactions are connected to cybercrimes such as malware attacks, phishing, business email compromise (BEC), CEO fraud, online action fraud, romance scams, and others. Given this percentage, mule accounts detection must be a high priority for financial services organizations. Join this session for an interactive “Ask Me Anything” with leading industry experts, driven by audience questions designed to empower you to meet this challenge head-on.

The Journey to Perpetual KYC

Digital transformation is creating new opportunities to improve our industry's approach to due diligence and accelerate strategies to empower our firms to fight financial crime. The next phase in this evolution is Perpetual KYC (pKYC) - a dynamic refresh of customer data and actionable information that provides an always-updated view of your regulatory risk. In this session, we will discuss this future state of KYC, the current roadblocks, and detail the critical factors that can lead to a successful pKYC transition in your organization.

Speed Networking

Algorithms Against Trafficking - How to Create a Machine Learning Algorithm to Detect Human Trafficking

While the pandemic scrambled the operations of human traffickers, human trafficking remains an insidious and highly profitable crime. Fortunately, investigators and fincrime compliance professionals have powerful tools at their disposal to take on traffickers, including machine learning, and the good news is that it doesn't take a vast team of data scientists and PhDs to unlock the potential in your own data.

Opening Reception - Going In One More Round

Morning Movement & Motivation - There’s an Inner Power that Makes Us Winners

Get up and get moving! Join our fitness instructor, Christian, who will guide us through a unique session that combines yoga, tai chi and mixed martial arts. The goal here is to connect the body and brain through movement and motivation. Feel some stress relief and get a boost of energy to take on day two of FinCrime Skills with ease.

The Write Stuff – Effective Writing for Reports, Investigative Files and More

Can you 'see the forest through the trees'? Amid the myriad of rules, regs and obligations for compliance programs, one of their most essential functions is to produce effective and useful financial intelligence for law enforcement. For most institutions, that intelligence comes in the form of suspicious activity/suspicious transaction reports. Yet despite their importance, many producers of SARs feel they fall into a black hole after filing – despite the fact that law enforcement is actively consuming SAR data to support existing cases and trigger new ones. On this session, find out what happens beyond that “black hole” and get practical tips to help improve your reporting and financial intelligence. You’ll hear from law enforcement, regulators and compliance professionals on the elements of a truly useful SAR, learn how regulators and law enforcement agents actually utilize SARs, and much more.

You Need a Network to Fight a Crime Network

While industry analysts have predicted trends around tighter collaboration between Fraud & Anti-Money Laundering (FRAML) for some time, the pandemic caused a convergence of crime pathways around digital, making this an idea whose time has come. Learn how to better collaborate both internally across Fraud, AML, and InfoSEC and externally across the ecosystem to better identify emerging digital threats.

Russia Sanctions - Top 3 Tips from the Front Lines of Analysis and Investigation

Sanctions on Russian entities and individuals are a tangled web, and unraveling it can be a vexing challenge. Amid international tension between Russia and the US and EU, the pressure on sanctions teams is only growing. Hear from seasoned pros as they cut through the noise and give you focused tools and tips you can use to find information sources, Russian corporate records, and more to support your investigations.

Leveraging Network Risk Insight for Financial Risk Decisioning

Financial system risk is ultimately determined by the actors and participants initiating, underwriting, facilitating and receiving monetary flows yet most risk applications focus on transaction risk alone. Assessing the potential for criminality within a financial system begins with a holistic understanding of all its network participants. True network risk insight requires deep understanding and visibility into the business purpose & suitability of corporate entities, their investors & key personnel. In this session, you'll see examples for how access & insights to network actors and ownership structures reveal potential for illicit monetary flows before the first transaction ever occurs.

The Incredible Challenge of 'Credible Challenge' - The Art and Science of Compliance Engagement with Stakeholders

Stakeholder engagement is one of the most important and often overlooked aspect of an effective financial crime compliance program. Professionals in all areas of an organization, from boards of directors to frontline investigators, must know who their stakeholders are, and the most appropriate methods of communication. Hear from experts in the field on how to credibly challenge preconceived notions, and improve your risk management skills.

Tech Forecast - Top 3 Disruptive Technologies in FinCrime and How to Prepare Now

Most fincrime professionals would agree that we're on the cusp of major tech changes in compliance and investigations, but what comes next is much less clear. Amid the buzz over AI, privacy-enhancing technologies, blockchain and more, what's truly transformative and what's just hot air and hype? In this session, an expert with a front-row seat to tech adoption at financial institutions around the world gives you an insider's perspective on the technologies with the most promise to revamp fincrime investigations and compliance, and gives advice on how you can prepare both individually and organizationally for coming changes.

Leveraging the Holy Grail of Data to More Effectively Manage AML Alerts and Cases

In this session we will discuss technology and services best practices that can be used when conducting financial crime investigations. We will cover red flags to look when looking at suspicious activity alerts. How to process this data as part of an investigation and the importance of maintaining the integrity, veracity and lineage of the data used as part of your financial crime risk management program. Additionally as demands on resources grow and hiring is ever more difficult, we will discuss options for using external organizations to process alerts and cases. What capabilities should you be looking for as you onboard firms to support your alert and case remediation needs.

Real-Time Financial Crime Risk Management

As more and more financial services become real-time, financial crime risk is growing. In this session we will discuss how to manage financial crime risk in a world of real-time payments and given customer expectations. We’ll discuss what payment rails expose organizations to the most risk and the red flag indicators we all should be looking for.

Suspicious Minds - How to Create and Develop Your Investigative Mindset

A high-quality investigation in the financial crime context is both a science and an art. There's the practicalities of process and procedure, but also the intangible aspects - the gut instincts and intuitive leaps that are hard to quantify though essential for great investigators. But how can fincrime professionals build both their ""hard"" investigative skills and create the right mindset to support effective investigations? Can you really teach someone to have an ""investigator's brain?"" Find out in this session, where two investigators with decades of experience in financial services and intelligence explore how you can cultivate the mental framework and skillset to boost your investigative results.

Critical Issues for Credit Unions – Risky Business, Effective Reports, and More

While fintechs may get all the attention lately, credit unions represent a vast and vital sector of the financial services landscape, with over 120 million members in the US and Canada alone. It’s clear that credit unions will remain part of the present and future of finance, and financial crime risk management. In this session, a compliance expert with one of Canada’s largest credit unions brings his insights on some of the key fincrime challenges facing the sector.

Hacking Humans - How Cyber Fraudsters Target People and Techniques to Stop Social Engineering

Human mistakes and vulnerabilities are the reason for an estimated 90% of cyber attacks. Despite vast spending, criminals and fraudsters are still finding it easier to hack people instead of hacking computers, and social engineering methods are their weapons of choice. In this session, leading experts in online fraud prevention and security guides you on the present reality of social engineering attacks, and gives you a preview of emerging threats. Join us for an entertaining and interactive session where we’ll challenge you with real-world fraud scenarios and see if you can catch social engineers!

ACFCS Demo: Tools for Prescriptive Learning

Take a look at the newly redesigned platform and learning experience. We've made it easier for you to find the education you need with everything in one place, at your fingertips and to meet your specific needs. On demand webinar content has been organized into Catalogues based on the areas of financial crime most important to you, and newly created Learning Plans help prescribe a pathway for your targeted training needs. And did you know we have a mobile app where you can complete training and gain credits on the go? Whether you are new to the platform, or just haven't visited in a while, come back and check out the brand new experience!

A Day in the Life of a Professional Money Launderer - How to Think Like a Financial Criminal

If you want to catch a wolf, you have to think like a wolf. Some of the best training for financial crime investigators involves the latest trends in criminal typologies, and to actually look at money laundering through the eyes of the illicit actors. In the midst of all of the investigative processes, analysis, case management, and reporting, we can't forget to stay educated on the predicate crimes and their actors. Professional money launderers are able to expose the weak spots in regulatory and compliance programs. We must stay vigilant and one step ahead!

Speed Networking

Emerging Sanctions Requirements for the Digital Era

Regulators have responded to pandemic-accelerated digital adoption by stepping up oversight and increasing sanctions enforcements related to emerging digital threat vectors. Learn more about these trends and the steps you can take to transform your sanctions compliance practice for our new digital-first environment.

Modern Slavery Risk & Resilience in the Digital Age

Far from a thing of the past, slavery continues to exist around the world in the 21st century. The risk of inadvertently being involved with or implicated in this practice might be far greater than you realize. In this session, we will discuss how you can manage this risk with up-to-date information and technology including slavery indicators, regulatory scanning, and the impact of digital trends.

Fake It and Make It - How Financial Criminals Create and Abuse Corporate Entities (and How You Can Beat Them at Their Games)

What do BBC Digital Ltd, Hevesi Cleaning Limited, and BYJKL Limited all have in common? They are just three of the tens of thousands of questionable shell corporations formed in the UK in recent months. Despite being an area of intense media and regulatory scrutiny in the past few years, shell companies remain an indispensable and endlessly flexible part of the financial criminal’s toolkit. And in many jurisdictions – the US and UK among them – they are still easy and inexpensive to create from anywhere in the world. Join us for an entertaining and enlightening look at the murky world of shell companies as expert Graham Barrow takes you inside the UK corporate registry. He’ll give insights into the scale and scope of the problem of fake corporations, using the search functionality of the UK Companies House for live demonstrations. Most importantly, he’ll leave you with a better understanding of how and why financial criminals use shell companies, and what to look out for in investigations and due diligence.

Identity Crisis - Navigating the New Reality of Identity Fraud

Is fraud prevention in the midst of an identity crisis? Amid massive waves of pandemic-related fraud, data breaches, and the rapid adoption of digital channels, validating customer identities is arguably trickier but more important to get right than ever before. The upside is that financial crime professionals have more data and more powerful tools available than ever before – if they can use them effectively. In this session, experts with extensive experience in fraud prevention and detection give their insights on the present and future of fighting identity fraud. We’ll explore the lessons learned from the pandemic, emerging fraud trends, and how financial institutions are solving the identity challenge.

Demystifying NFTs for the FinCrime Professional

Bored apes, crypto kitties, and digital art with multi-million dollar prices - non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a strange new world for most financial crime professionals. As NFTs grow in appeal and value, it's likely that financial criminals will seek to exploit these digital assets, if they haven't already. Fortunately, those in the NFT and crypto space are already taking steps to secure this burgeoning industry and provide transparency in ways that may surprise you. In this session, experts directly involved in compliance related to NFTs and crypto investigations give you a crash course in what NFTs are, how they work, and what they mean for financial crime investigators and analysts.

Demo: Workflow Orchestration Tools for Perpetual KYC

Smart risk screening and management for you can also be a frictionless experience for your customers. Join us for this demonstration of our workflow orchestration tools where automation makes consistent, rules-based decisions for your KYC and AML policies. Learn how leveraging our updated-by-the-day data into real intelligence about your customers allows for better management of those relationships and can help you build a perpetual KYC program.

Fighting Back Against Online Scams

Online banking has been widely adopted over the past 10 years – and especially so during the global pandemic as the world became contact-less. Consumers have embraced the shift to digital banking and payments for its speed and convenience. In recent memory, there hasn’t been such a rapid disruption to banking that has truly altered our relationships between both our financial organization and how we view money. Unfortunately, fraudsters have capitalized on these innovations and exploited disruptions from the pandemic. With the pervasive adoption of digital banking and payments and the investments made by financial services organizations to provide seamless online account opening and friction-less real-time payments, the criminals are not far behind. While fraudsters are always finding new ways to defraud consumers and organizations, the largest threat in 2022 and beyond is from scams. Join this session as we: • Take a deep dive into the most prevalent scams • Review key risk signals that are indicative of a scam • Discuss how to strengthen the weakest link: your customers

Breaking Into Fintech: Top Tips to Future-Proof Your Career

As anyone who’s checked a job board recently can attest, the vast and varied world of fintech is growing rapidly, and hungry for fincrime compliance professionals. Whether it’s crypto companies, neobanks, or mobile payment firms, nearly every company in this growing realm is looking for analysts, investigators and compliance officers. Yet fincrime professionals from the more “traditional” financial services space are often hesitant – or intimidated- regarding career opportunities in the fintech space. In this session, a recruiting expert lets you in on a secret – if you’re a professional in financial crime compliance, you likely have the background and experience necessary to make the leap to fintech! He’ll provide insights on the top skills that hiring managers are looking for among the fintech world, how to make yourself stand out, and much more.

FinCrime 2032 - Imagining the Future of Financial Crime and How to Prepare Today

What if you could peer into the future and discover what criminal trends, compliance roles and new tech will be prevalent ten years from now? How would that impact your planning for your career, organization and compliance program? That's exactly what we'll try to do in this session, bringing together experts from diverse backgrounds to look ahead and give their predictions on what's to come over the next decade. We can't promise we'll get everything right (prophesy is a notoriously fraught business) but we'll do our best to engage, entertain and get you thinking about how to prepare for the future now.

Scholarship Winners and Closing Remarks