Does this sound familiar: You’ve found something expensive you want to buy on Facebook Marketplace and the seller only wants cash. Or you’ve got a grandchild about to graduate college and you want to gift them cash commensurate with their accomplishment. Perhaps you’re buying a used car or a large item of furniture in a private transaction and the seller won’t accept a check or credit card. Whatever the reason, you need to make an unusually large withdrawal from your bank or investment account. Sounds straightforward enough, but when you drop by your bank or call up your financial advisor to make the withdrawal, you’re suddenly subjected to what feels like the third-degree. “Why do you need this money?” they will ask, and they won’t be satisfied until you provide the details. Nope, your banker and financial advisor aren’t busy bodies. They’re just trying to protect you from the increasing risk that you’re the victim of a scam. **Consumers Lose Billions of Dollars to Fraud** There’s good reason for your financial professional to be concerned on your behalf. Scamming consumers of their money has become a highly lucrative endeavor for criminals, and the amount lost to cybercrime in particular grows exponentially each year.  Scammers target anyone who ventures online, but seniors are especially at risk. The FBI reports that in 2025 alone, consumers over age 60 lost more than $7.7 billion to scammers. BUT that’s widely understood to be just a fraction of the real loss consumers experienced. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission conducted research that suggests since only 4.8 percent of victims of cybercrime file a report, the real loss likely ranges from a staggering $10.1 to $81.5 billion each year. **Cybercrime will only get worse** Two factors are converging to intensify the reach of cybercriminals. One is the use of AI to create targeted deep fake attacks that mimic the voice and appearance of someone you know. AI also makes it easier to deploy scam emails on a massive scale. Lastly, AI tools allow scammers to scrape websites and social media platforms for personal information faster and more thoroughly. Adding to the heightened threat of cybercrime is the fact that scammers are getting organized. From small timers working individually, online scamming operations have increasingly become big business, with cybercrime syndicates “employing” dozens and even hundreds of scammers in so-called boiler rooms and call centers exploiting thousands of victims every day. Because these syndicates are often located in countries like India, Nigeria, Ghana, Russia, China, and even Brazil, to name just a few, they are usually beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement. In many of these places the local governments are often getting complicit, there’s little legal deterrent to their crimes. **The Industry Laws that Help Protect You** Recognizing that consumers are at risk of exploitation and loss, the federal government and financial industry regulatory agencies have enacted a host of laws and regulations requiring financial professionals to take certain measures to protect their clients. • The Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering Laws require financial institutions to help detect and prevent money laundering. • FINRA’s Rule 3310 and federal banking laws require financial institutions to report any suspicious consumer behavior in Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). • The Know Your Customer (KYC) Rule mandates that your Advisor know your situation and routine behaviors and to consider any large, sudden and unexplained withdrawals as red flags. • Laws on the books, such as the Senior Safe Act and FINRA’s Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults), encourage Advisors to report suspicious transactions and even impose a hold on funds if they believe a vulnerable adult is being scammed. • Lastly, the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest rule requires your Advisor to act in your best interest. If a large and suspicious withdrawal might imperil your financial security, they must act to protect you. So, next time your banker or advisor starts to query you about a large withdrawal, keep in mind they’re doing what they must to help protect your financial security.