Author: Nicholas Milcarek, CFE, CAMS
On April 15, 2026, FinCEN released updated statistics on the effectiveness of the Rapid Response Program (RRP). Since the beginning of 2025, the program has halted the transfer of $268 million in stolen funds bringing the total to $1.8 billion in funds retrieved. Stolen funds have largely consisted of investment scams, business email compromise, and phone scams. The RRP is a collaboration of various financial intelligence units and law enforcement agencies with a range over 96 jurisdictions. Once the program is activated, FinCEN will issue hold harmless/stop payment orders to the fraudster’s institution in an attempt to claw back the funds.
To activate the program, victims or institutions must file a complaint with law enforcement such as an FBI IC3 or report the activity to the nearest U.S. Secret Service field office. report on behalf of the victim with information pertaining to the victim, identity of the fraudster (if available, including email addresses, phone numbers, I.P. addresses, etc.), and the nature of the incident. Filings within 72 hours of the fraudulent activity is deemed to be the most effective for funds retrieval. SAR confidentiality still applies within an IC3 report. In terms of SAR filings, banks should follow regular procedures for filing on funds transfer fraud with the addition of referencing reporting to law enforcement in applicable sections and including mention of the RRP in the narrative. Institutions should have adequate policies and procedures for when to file an IC3 report to activate the RRP, the timeliness of filing an IC3 report, and guidelines for adding the information into applicable SARs. See FIN-2022-FCT1 (linked below) for more details on SAR form completion when SARs are filed on cases where the Rapid Response Program was initiated.
Additional information from the RRP fact sheet and the news release can be found below:
RRPFactSheet.pdf
FinCEN’s Rapid Response Program Interdicts Nearly $2 Billion on Behalf of U.S. Cyber-Enabled Fraud Victims | FinCEN.gov
FIN-2022-FCT1
On April 15, 2026, FinCEN released updated statistics on the effectiveness of the Rapid Response Program (RRP). Since the beginning of 2025, the program has halted the transfer of $268 million in stolen funds bringing the total to $1.8 billion in funds retrieved. Stolen funds have largely consisted of investment scams, business email compromise, and phone scams. The RRP is a collaboration of various financial intelligence units and law enforcement agencies with a range over 96 jurisdictions. Once the program is activated, FinCEN will issue hold harmless/stop payment orders to the fraudster’s institution in an attempt to claw back the funds.
To activate the program, victims or institutions must file a complaint with law enforcement such as an FBI IC3 or report the activity to the nearest U.S. Secret Service field office. report on behalf of the victim with information pertaining to the victim, identity of the fraudster (if available, including email addresses, phone numbers, I.P. addresses, etc.), and the nature of the incident. Filings within 72 hours of the fraudulent activity is deemed to be the most effective for funds retrieval. SAR confidentiality still applies within an IC3 report. In terms of SAR filings, banks should follow regular procedures for filing on funds transfer fraud with the addition of referencing reporting to law enforcement in applicable sections and including mention of the RRP in the narrative. Institutions should have adequate policies and procedures for when to file an IC3 report to activate the RRP, the timeliness of filing an IC3 report, and guidelines for adding the information into applicable SARs. See FIN-2022-FCT1 (linked below) for more details on SAR form completion when SARs are filed on cases where the Rapid Response Program was initiated.
Additional information from the RRP fact sheet and the news release can be found below:
RRPFactSheet.pdf
FinCEN’s Rapid Response Program Interdicts Nearly $2 Billion on Behalf of U.S. Cyber-Enabled Fraud Victims | FinCEN.gov
FIN-2022-FCT1
RSS Feed