Friedman proposed a National Fraud Strategy at an American Banker event on Tuesday, arguing that information sharing, common best practices and legal safe harbors could help financial institutions, technology companies, telecommunications providers and law enforcement disrupt criminal activity.

The need for coordination comes as financial crime grows. Nasdaq Verafin’s 2026 Global Financial Crime Report estimates that fraud losses reached $579.4 billion in 2025, while scam-related losses totaled approximately $62 billion.

“This challenge is simply too large and evolving too quickly for any single institution to solve alone,” Friedman said.

The challenge is becoming more complex as criminals use AI to scale and refine their attacks. For more insight, I spoke with Greg Williamson, head of fraud commercialization strategy at Nasdaq Verafin, which works with 2,800 financial institutions across North America.

“AI is starting to drive more scale, changing the economics of fraud from a criminal perspective,” Williamson said. That includes criminals using AI to automate attacks and personalize scams to reach more victims.

As financial institutions strengthen their defenses, criminals are increasingly manipulating consumers into handing over credentials or authorizing payments themselves, rather than attempting to bypass bank security controls, Williamson said.

What has he seen that is particularly concerning? “There’s a shift to scams with some sort of emotional plea—whether that’s love or fear,” he said.

Using publicly available information about victims’ relationships, finances and families, scammers create schemes that can begin with fake online listings, romance scams, fraudulent investments or impersonation attempts on social media and other platforms, he said.

I found this particularly alarming: Fraud-as-a-service tools allow criminals to outsource parts of their operations, Williamson said. They also lower the barrier to entry for anyone looking to launch their own scam operation.

This is why Friedman is calling for a framework that connects financial institutions with technology platforms, telecommunications providers, payment networks and law enforcement. Earlier intervention could help prevent victims from authorizing fraudulent payments in the first place, Williamson said.

Friedman’s proposal would build on existing public- and private-sector initiatives and could complement the nation’s anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism framework, which the administration is working to modernize.

It will be key to translate coordination into practical action, including determining how organizations can share information responsibly and intervene before funds disappear.

A national strategy could help close the gaps criminals exploit. It will require a coordinated response that follows the scam from its first contact with a victim to the movement of the money.

Have a good weekend.

Sheryl Estrada
Sheryl.Estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Notable moves this week:

Peter Griffith was appointed CFO of Mattel, Inc. (Nasdaq: MAT), effective Oct. 20. Griffith succeeds Paul Ruh, who will serve in an advisory role through the end of the year. Most recently, Griffith served as EVP and CFO of Amgen, joining the company in 2019 from Sherwood Canyon Group, LLC, a private equity and advisory firm where he served as president. Before that, he spent more than two decades as a partner at EY, serving in roles including global vice chair of corporate development and global managing partner of operations and finance. He also oversaw the firm’s finance and accounting, corporate development, tax, and treasury functions. Before joining EY, he was a managing director and head of the investment banking division at Wedbush Securities Inc.

Amy Ard was promoted to CFO of Forgent Power Solutions Inc. (NYSE: FPS), a designer and manufacturer of electrical distribution equipment. Ard succeeds Ryan Fiedler, who has served as CFO since June 2025 and is stepping down to transition to an external consulting role, enabling him to spend more time with his family, according to the company.Ard has served as Forgent’s EVP of finance since January. She has been part of Forgent’s leadership team since the company’s founding and played a central role in its initial public offering. Ard has more than 25 years of senior finance and accounting experience across public and private companies. 

A.J. Silver was promoted to CFO of CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP), effective Oct. 19. Silver succeeds Raju Prasad, who is stepping down from the company to pursue external opportunities. Silver has served as the company’s SVP of finance since January 2025. Since joining CRISPR Therapeutics in October 2018, he has held roles of increasing responsibility spanning strategic finance, treasury, financial planning and analysis, accounting and reporting, tax, and financial operations. Before joining the company, Silver spent more than 10 years at Ernst & Young LLP.

Samantha L. Stoddard was appointed VP, CFO and treasurer of Standex International Corporation (NYSE: SXI), a manufacturer of engineered components and systems, effective Dec. 1. Stoddard joins Standex from JELD-WEN Holding, Inc., where she currently serves as EVP and CFO. She will succeed Ademir Sarcevic, who was promoted to EVP, corporate and group president of electronics, as previously announced in May. Sarcevic will remain CFO until Stoddard assumes her new role.

Zach Kirkman was appointed CFO of Mach Industries, a defense manufacturer. Kirkman brings nearly two decades of experience in financial leadership. Most recently, he served as deputy CFO at General Motors, reporting directly to the CFO and overseeing treasury, corporate development, GM Ventures, and long-term financial planning and analysis. Previously, he helped establish and lead Tesla’s corporate development function. He began his career at Apple, where he held several finance roles, including one in corporate development.

Rick Buffington was named CFO of Wiser Solutions, a commerce intelligence platform. Buffington brings financial and operational leadership experience. Most recently, he served in a senior finance leadership role at MultiTracks.com. His previous experience includes leadership roles at Accruent and Community Brands, where he developed expertise in scaling software businesses, building high-performing finance organizations and driving operational performance.

Big Deal

Korn Ferry’s 2027 Talent Trends Report highlights how AI and growing workforce capability gaps are expected to reshape hiring, employee development, and workforce planning. Based on a survey of more than 1,300 talent and senior leaders across 75 countries, the report finds that 77% of leaders believe capability gaps will pose a greater challenge than talent shortages, making adaptability, critical thinking, and collaboration increasingly essential skills.

As AI automates routine tasks, organizations are expected to place greater emphasis on skills-based hiring, employee reskilling, and more flexible career paths, while managers will need stronger coaching and people-development capabilities. The report also anticipates continued shortages in technical and skilled labor, alongside closer integration of recruitment, learning and development, and workforce planning.

Korn Ferry advises that organizations best positioned for success in 2027 will be those that proactively identify emerging skill needs, invest in developing their workforce, and help employees adapt to the changing nature of work.

Going deeper

Here are four Fortune weekend reads:

"Zuckerberg told Meta directors he might leave California, where he could lose billions to a wealth tax. Meta answered with a new class of stock" —Amanda Gerut

"No city employs more tech workers than New York. Now it’s spending $10 million to train 40,000 people for AI jobs" —Catherina Gioino

"Kalshi’s cofounder says becoming a billionaire hasn’t changed much: ‘Maybe I’ll get a fancier lunch’" —Mia Osmonbekov

"Gen Z expects to inherit $124 trillion—but retired boomers are ‘spending their kids’ inheritance’ to go on vacation instead. It’s called Ski-ing" —Orianna Rosa Royle

Overheard

“Brand cohesion, data hygiene, governance and integration are the unsexy infrastructure that rarely makes headlines. Neglect them and you can end up in the headlines for the wrong reasons.”

—Twilio CMO Chris Koehler writes in a Fortune opinion piece.