What triggers a suspicious transaction report?
Generally speaking, however, banks and other financial institutions must report unusual or suspicious transactions. These include large cash deposits or transfers inconsistent with customer
Suspicious transactions are any event within a financial institution that could be possibly related to fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal activities. Suspicious transactions are flagged to be investigated, but many suspicious transactions are simply false positives.
If potential money laundering or violations of the BSA are detected, a report is required. Computer hacking and customers operating an unlicensed money services business also trigger an action. Once potential criminal activity is detected, the SAR must be filed within 30 days.
Frequent cross-border flow of transactions, especially with high-risk countries. A large amount of cash deposited in smaller portions. A large amount of cash deposited in an account at once. Payment received in account, not matched with goods shipped or trade-based money laundering.
Counterfeit or Stolen Instruments. Identity Theft. Money Laundering. Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR) Unauthorized Banking.
- Wandering around campus areas attempting to open multiple doors.
- Seeming nervous and looking over their shoulders.
- Entering restricted areas when not authorized or following immediately behind others into card-access areas while the door is open.
Suspicious activity is any observed behavior that could indicate a person may be involved in a crime or about to commit a crime.
If a customer does something obviously criminal – such as offering a bribe or even admitting to a crime – the law requires you to file a SAR if it involves or aggregates funds or other assets of $2,000 or more.
Banks may freeze bank accounts if they suspect illegal activity such as money laundering, terrorist financing, or writing bad checks. Creditors can seek judgment against you, which can lead a bank to freeze your account. The government can request an account freeze for any unpaid taxes or student loans.
The Bank Suspects Illicit Activity
The bank may get suspicious if they see sudden large deposits and withdrawals or transfers, especially overseas or involving unknown parties. They might also view false information in your customer record or maintaining multiple different accounts as red flags, too.
When should you report a suspicious transaction or activity?
When do I submit a SAR? As soon as you 'know' or 'suspect' that a person is engaged in money laundering or dealing in criminal property, you must submit a SAR.
If you suspect that a person or transaction is linked to a crime, you must submit a suspicious matter report (SMR) to AUSTRAC.

Examples an unusual transaction include identifying suspicious insurance claims, unusual banking transactions, and credit card activity. Machine learning is also useful in network relationship analysis. In this application, machine learning explores the connections between people and entities.
References
- https://www.napier.ai/knowledgehub/what-is-transaction-monitoring
- https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/transaction
- https://noire.com/glossary/suspect-transaction/
- https://www.rbi.org.in/commonperson/English/Scripts/Notification.aspx?Id=530
- https://alessa.com/blog/3-stages-of-money-laundering/
- https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/supervision-and-examination/bank-operations/financial-crime/suspicious-activity-reports/index-suspicious-activity-reports.html
- https://pheha.org/suspicious-activity
- https://stripe.com/resources/more/fraudulent-transactions-101
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/suspicious-activity-report.asp
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5054066/
- https://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Suspicion-and-Paranoia
- https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/taxes/cash-deposit-irs
- https://www.nafcu.org/compliance-blog/bank-secrecy-act-red-flags-money-laundering
- https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2019/Dispute/dispute-resolution-27-february-corporate-investigations-the-obligation-to-report-suspicious-transactions-in-terms-of-section-29-of-the-financial-intelligence-centre-act-no-38-of-2001.html
- https://www.veriff.com/blog/how-to-detect-money-laundering
- https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/suspicious
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/why-bank-closed-my-account-what-to-do/
- https://www.moneylion.com/learn/can-bank-tellers-see-your-balance/
- https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/financial-transaction/
- https://www.quora.com/I-want-to-deposit-2-000-in-cash-savings-but-I-cant-prove-where-I-got-it-Will-the-bank-IRS-get-me-in-trouble
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/know-deposit-more-10k-checking-130016900.html
- https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/unattended-vs-suspicious-item-postcard-and-poster
- https://www.rocketmoney.com/learn/personal-finance/cash-deposits
- https://chargebacks911.com/my-bank-account-is-under-investigation/
- https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unauthorised-payments-account
- http://dpss.umich.edu/content/services/report-a-crime/suspicious-behavior/
- https://carnation-inc.com/blogs/money-handling-blog/how-much-cash-deposit-is-suspicious
- https://www.bb.org.bd/aboutus/regulationguideline/aml/guidance_str.pdf
- https://www.lcu.com.au/latest-blog-posts-from-lcu-2016-ghost-terminal-transactions-beware.html
- https://www.southindianbank.com/userfiles/aml-what_you_must_know.pdf
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/qa-session-3-any-difference-between-suspicious-report-cataveica
- https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/understand-how-to-report-large-cash-transactions
- https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/illegal-transaction
- https://smlaw.co.nz/major-transactions-your-obligations-as-a-director/
- https://www.viisights.com/products/wise/suspicious-activity/
- https://taxguru.in/rbi/early-warning-signals-red-flag-accounts.html
- https://www.austrac.gov.au/business/core-guidance/reporting/suspicious-matter-reports-smrs
- https://mpdc.dc.gov/whatssuspicious
- https://financialcrimeacademy.org/suspicious-activity-and-transaction/
- https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-accountingformanagers/chapter/assets-liabilities-income-expenses-and-equity/
- https://complyadvantage.com/insights/aml-red-flags/
- https://unite.un.org/goaml/content/reports
- https://sanctionscanner.com/blog/red-flag-indicators-for-aml-cft-161
- https://cbben.thomsonreuters.com/sites/default/files/net_file_store/CBB_Vol3_AppendixFC_iv_Examples_Jan2007.pdf
- https://www.obfs.uillinois.edu/identity-theft/examples-of-red-flags/
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/09/debit-card-fraud-at-risk.asp
- https://www.ribaostore.com/blogs/news/how-much-cash-deposit-is-considered-suspicious
- https://financialcrimeacademy.org/red-flags-in-transaction-monitoring/
- https://money.usnews.com/banking/articles/if-you-deposit-a-lot-of-cash-does-your-bank-report-it-to-the-government
- https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets-economy/082316/3-reasons-banks-can-freeze-your-account.asp
- https://www.occ.treas.gov/publications-and-resources/forms/sar-program/index-sar-program.html
- https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/what-happens-if-i-deposit-more-than-10000-dollars/
- https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/banks/articles/heres-what-happens-if-you-deposit-more-than-10000-in-cash-into-your-bank-account/
- https://www.unit21.ai/blog/financial-and-bank-suspicious-activity-examples
- https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/report_reference.pdf
- https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-suspicious-and-suspect
- https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/accounting/accounting-transactions/
- https://www.fic.gov.za/Documents/Guidance%20Note%205.pdf
- https://docs.oracle.com/cd/A60725_05/html/comnls/us/inv/trntype.htm
- https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/158-introduction-to-suspicious-activity-reports-sars/file
- https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/heres-what-happens-when-you-withdraw-a-lot-of-money-from-your-bank-account
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicious_activity_report
- https://www.iggsoft.com/ibank/iBank_5_Help/transactions/types.html
- https://www.police.gov.sg/~/media/spf/files/cad/stro/website/industry%20layout/professional-accountant-auditor-indicators.pdf
- https://www.piranirisk.com/blog/how-to-identify-unusual-or-suspicious-transactions
- https://www.nrb.org.np/fiu/suspicious-transactions-reporting-guidelines/
- https://www.thefederalcriminalattorneys.com/suspicious-activity-report
- https://www.veem.com/library/are-wire-transfers-over-10000-reported-to-the-irs/
- https://www.sigmaratings.com/knowledge-center/red-flags-money-laundering
- https://www.sml.texas.gov/mortgage-origination/red-flag-rules/
- https://allenvisioninc.com/faq/unusual-transaction/
- https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/accounting-transactions
- https://www.brettwilson.co.uk/services/fraud-and-financial-crime/proceeds-of-crime-act/suspicious-activity-reports/
- https://statrys.com/blog/unfreeze-bank-account
- https://sanctionscanner.com/blog/what-do-banks-do-when-they-encounter-a-suspicious-activity-422
- https://www.austrac.gov.au/business/core-guidance/amlctf-programs/suspicious-transactions-identified-your-transaction-monitoring-systems
- https://www.maricopa.gov/919/Probable-Cause-Versus-Reasonable-Suspici
- https://financialcrimeacademy.org/the-three-stages-of-money-laundering/
- https://www.cnb.cz/export/sites/cnb/en/faq/.galleries/definition_of_unusual_and_unjustified_transactions_from_the_perspective_of_the_risk_of_money_laundering_and_terrorist_financing.pdf
- https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/press/press-releases/scam-alert-fake-automated-calls-claiming-be-banks-and-card-companies
- https://www.suffolk.police.uk/sites/suffolk/files/reporting_suspicious_behaviour.pdf
- https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/to-monitor-and-detect-suspicious-transactions-in-a-financial-transaction-system-through-database-forensic-audit-and-rule-based-outlier-detection-model/70770
- https://smartasset.com/checking-account/how-much-cash-can-you-withdraw-from-your-bank
- https://legal.thomsonreuters.com/en/insights/articles/what-is-a-suspicious-activity-report
- https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/money-laundering-and-illicit-finance/suspicious-activity-reports
- https://osgamers.com/frequently-asked-questions/how-much-cash-deposit-is-suspicious
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/short-tandem-repeat
- https://lepageassociates.com/the-suspicion-is-killing-me/
- https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/insights/industries/financial-services/suspicious-activity-reporting
- https://www.banktrainingcenter.com/suspicious-activity-reporting.asp
- https://fiu.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/What-are-common-indicators-of-potentially-suspicious-transactions.pdf
- https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/banks/articles/heres-what-happens-when-your-bank-files-a-suspicious-activity-report/
- https://sumsub.com/blog/the-10-most-common-aml-red-flags-2023-complete-guide/
- https://www.bragertaxlaw.com/what-are-sars-suspicious-activity-reports-and-why-do-i-care.html
- https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/anti-money-laundering/money-laundering-warning-signs
- https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/29/these-are-some-of-the-top-red-flags-for-an-irs-audit-tax-pros-say.html
- https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/siwin07/siwinter2007-article03.html
- https://paginas.fe.up.pt/~acbrito/laudon/ch2/chpt2-1fulltext.htm
- https://www.sc.com.my/regulation/guidelines/amla/examples-of-suspicious-transactions
- https://victimconnect.org/learn/types-of-crime/financial-fraud/
- https://unacademy.com/content/cbse-class-11/study-material/accounting/types-of-business-transactions-in-accounting/
- https://www.svgfiu.com/index.php/resources/identifying-suspicious-transactions
- https://hilliardohio.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/suspicious-activity.pdf
- https://www.skynova.com/learn/taxes/cash-deposits