At a Chase Bank branch in Scarsdale, New York, longtime tellers Karen Battista and Angela Castaldo recently thwarted attempts by fraudsters to deceive elderly customers. In one case, an 81-year-old widow arrived to transfer $9,000 into what she believed was a newly opened account, prompted by phone calls she received claiming to be from Chase. The callers, impersonating bank representatives, warned her of fraudulent transfers made through Zelle, a digital payment service, and directed her to move funds to a so-called safer account. Battista’s quick verification of the new account information revealed it belonged to a man, prompting her to advise the customer to end the call immediately—preventing her from falling victim to a bank impersonation scam.

Such incidents exemplify a growing wave of cybercrime targeting bank customers, with reported losses reaching $21 billion in 2025, marking a 25 percent increase from the previous year and nearly a fivefold rise since 2020, according to data from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Despite the increasing sophistication of these scams, many victims lack frontline defenders like Battista and Castaldo, who have stepped into roles that extend beyond traditional teller duties to include fraud detection and customer education.

In response to escalating threats, financial institutions nationwide are enhancing their fraud prevention strategies. JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., has invested in understanding the psychological tactics employed by scammers. Two years ago, the bank brought on Elizabeth Huppert, a behavioral scientist, to lead efforts focused on countering the emotional manipulation that fraudsters use to ensnare victims. Huppert’s team works with specialized “scam interruption” units trained to intervene in situations where customers are being manipulated, often by recognizing behavioral patterns or cues uncovered through data analysis and interactions in branches and call centers.

These specialists face challenging tasks that can include delivering difficult truths, such as revealing that an investment is fraudulent or that a supposed romantic partner is a con artist. Many scams unfold over months, with criminals—often operating from overseas syndicates—building trust and emotional connections with their targets. Huppert’s research aims to disrupt this dynamic by studying recorded calls to understand why victims become susceptible, noting a common thread of mistrust toward banks that scammers exploit. The team’s approach involves raising doubts and encouraging customers to reconsider their actions, effectively breaking the psychological hold of the fraudsters.

As cybercrime continues to rise in scale and complexity, banks are increasingly relying on a combination of technological tools and human insight to protect customers. While these advances offer hope, experts caution that no solution is foolproof, underscoring the importance of vigilance and ongoing innovation in fraud prevention efforts across the financial sector.