<p> Trade-based money laundering has become one of the primary methods of funds transfer for criminal organizations and sponsors of terrorism. Stronger banking regulations have made this method more attractive as the funds can be hidden within seemingly legitimate trade activity. The TBML/FT typology can be extremely complex, however, and it can easily appear as legitimate trade activity to those unfamiliar with its intricacies. This paper reviews traditional and emerging methods of TBML/FT as well as common compliance program processes to determine the actions financial institutions can take to combat this activity. Trade-based money laundering techniques vary widely. Therefore, financial institutions cannot rely solely on compliance investigators to recognize them. Instead compliance programs must take a multifaceted approach and use all the resources available to them. The recommendations given are intended to enable financial institutions to identify TBML activity through industry-specific training, data analysis, and communication with other entities engaged in the fight against this method of value transfer. </p><p>

<p> Even as electronic payments and virtual currencies become more popular, checks are still the nearly ubiquitous form of payment for many situations in the United States such as payroll, purchasing a vehicle, paying rent, and hiring a contractor. Fraud has always plagued this form of payment, and this research aimed to capture the scope of this 15^th century problem in the 21^st century. Today, counterfeit checks originating from overseas are the scourge of online dating sites, classifieds forums, and mailboxes throughout the country. Additional frauds including alteration, theft, and check kiting also exploit checks. Check fraud is causing hundreds of millions in estimated losses to both financial institutions and consumers annually, and the problem is growing. Fraud investigators and financial institutions must be better educated and armed to successfully combat it. This research study collected information on the history of checks, forms of check fraud, victimization, and methods for check fraud prevention and detection. Check fraud is not only a financial issue, but also a social one. Uneducated and otherwise vulnerable consumers are particularly targeted by scammers exploiting this form of fraud. Racial minorities, elderly, mentally ill, and those living in poverty are disproportionately affected by fraud victimization. Financial institutions struggle to strike a balance between educating customers, complying with regulations, and tailoring alerts that are both valuable and fast. Applications of artificial intelligence including machine learning and computer vision have many recent advancements, but financial institution anti-fraud measures have not kept pace. This research concludes that the onus rests on financial institutions to take a modern approach to check fraud, incorporating machine learning into real-time reviews, to adequately protect victims.</p><p>