In an interview, Ben Wagoner, head of corporate security at Westfield Bank, ran through a list of types of fraud.<\/p>\n
Phishing occurs when a consumer receives an email from someone masquerading as a bank, utility company or some other official entity. The email might include a link to a webpage, where users are asked to divulge sensitive information \u2014 like a Social Security number or a password \u2014 that can then be used by a thief to access bank funds. <\/p>\n
Smishing is a variation of phishing done over text.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Mass., there was one going around for turnpike tolls, \u2018Click on the link here … you\u2019re overdue for (toll payments),\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fraud victims might also get a call from a doctored caller ID in a scam known as vishing or spoofing. With AI, spoofing scams can now include highly realistic voice impersonations.<\/p>\n
In 2024, reported losses nationally from phishing and spoofing scams topped $70 million, a nearly threefold increase from the 2023 total of $18.7 million, according to the latest report from the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center.<\/p>\n
Though local banks were hesitant to elaborate on losses they\u2019ve suffered, they said beefing up security has been top of mind.<\/p>\n
PeoplesBank, a large community bank with branches in Massachusetts and northern Connecticut, is shifting away from manual fraud detection toward more automated, machine-driven tactics, said Executive Vice President Aleda De Maria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been joking internally that we need to fight AI with AI,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The bank has been using ZYNLO, an app, as a sandbox where it can test security systems that will be introduced later this year, she said. <\/p>\n Among them: a system that leverages AI and machine logic to create a model of customers\u2019 online banking behaviors. For example, should someone want to transfer funds to another account, deviations from the model trigger a review by a human being or, if the user does something brazen, a \u201chard block\u201d by a bot.<\/p>\n The system can tell if a fraudster is at work by how much time they spend on the transaction history screen or which phone they\u2019re using, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cJust in the fourth quarter alone we saw a very significant reduction in account-to-account transfer fraud on (ZYNLO),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Westfield Bank has a similar system in place to detect anomalies, with a human being interpreting results and making a final decision, Wagoner said. Ditto with Monson Savings.<\/p>\n Alongside the spread of AI-powered fraud, check fraud continued to hassle local banks in 2025, reflecting national trends.<\/p>\n Fraudsters typically steal checks from mailboxes and use household chemicals to remove the recipient\u2019s name and the amount, adding in their own, according to a joint report by the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. <\/p>\n In a more sophisticated scheme, fraudsters doctor photos of stolen checks with photo-editing software and attempt to cash the doctored checks.<\/p>\n Arbour said Monson Savings uses image-analysis technology to spot duplicate or altered checks. The bank also uses Positive Pay, an optional service that compares checks presented for payment against a database of checks obtained from the issuing parties. <\/p>\n Westfield Bank offers Positive Pay to business customers, said Senior Vice President Dan Marini.<\/p>\n In a similar strategy, PeoplesBank uses technology that ensures checks don\u2019t have a routing number that was previously flagged as suspicious.<\/p>\n Local bankers stress that customer awareness is a critical component in any effective response to fraud. Monson Savings runs a detailed safety and security blog. At PeoplesBank, customers fill out a checklist designed to spot any red flags before committing to a wire transfer.<\/p>\n Wagoner said that if a customer is ever unsure of whether they\u2019re talking to a bank representative, they should hang up the phone and call the number on the back of their bank card \u2014 or visit a local branch. <\/p>\n Though Monson Savings has seen a reduction in successful fraud attempts, Arbour said the battle is far from over.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re proud of the progress,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we know this is an ongoing battle that requires constant vigilance.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" … AI-powered deepfakes to low-tech<\/span> check fraud. \u00e2\u0080\u009cAI has changed … Monson Savings uses image-analysis technology<\/span> to spot duplicate or altered … a similar strategy, PeoplesBank uses technology<\/span> that ensures checks don\u00e2\u0080\u0099t …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}