NBA friends,

Member input is the driving force behind the work of your association. Throughout 2025, member banks continually raised concerns about consumer fraud impacting our fellow Nebraskans and their customers. Based on this input, the NBA Board leadership tasked the NBA staff with researching and presenting a mitigation strategy. The Board ultimately approved a multi-pronged strategy at their August 2025 meeting: banker education, cross-bank collaboration, advocacy and public policy, and increased consumer awareness. To support the successful implementation of this strategy, the NBA Board also approved a substantial commitment of staffing and financial resources. The following is a summary of the strategic impacts to date.

Banker Education

• The inaugural NBA Fraud Summit was held Aug. 27, 2025, at UNL’s Innovation Campus, with more than 200 bankers in attendance; we received exceptional reviews of this program from attendees.
• The 2026 NBA Fraud Summit is planned for Aug. 27 at UNL’s Innovation Campus. A list of excellent speakers has been incorporated into the program, including law enforcement, technology vendors, legal experts and bankers.
• The NBA launched an in-depth Fraud Peer Group that included multiple sessions where interested stakeholders could share specific information and discuss bank-level strategies.

Cross-Bank Collaboration

The NBA Fraud Community Platform provides participating NBA members with a free online portal that allows members to freely share information on specific fraud activities and highlight various prevention strategies. Participating banks must be 314(b) certified. To date, more than 30 Nebraska banks have registered to participate in the platform. The site has been averaging more than three postings per week. If you would like to learn more, please reach out to any NBA staff member at (402) 474-1555.

Advocacy and Public Policy

Recognizing that fraud prevention is not just a banking issue, the NBA government relations team partnered with several interested stakeholders, including elected officials and other advocacy groups like AARP, to form the Fraud Free Nebraska Coalition (FFN). This group subsequently shepherded the introduction of fraud-mitigation legislative proposals in the Nebraska Legislature. Through hard work, banker engagement and strong partnerships, the following legislation was approved and signed by Gov. Pillen:

• LB 785: Criminalizes the use of possession of a mailbox key by an unauthorized person. The goal of this proposal is to help prevent check fraud.
• LB 838: Allows banks to designate an “authorized contact” in the event of an emergency, loss of contact with the customer or a suspected consumer fraud.
• LB 1118: The first of its kind in the country, this legislation requires social media firms to develop and enforce enhanced “know your customer” requirements for firms advertising on various social media platforms. The legislation also requires social media firms to develop a process for detecting, investigating and taking down fraudulent advertisements in a timely manner.

The FFN also worked closely to get legislative approval for a proposal to offer additional protections for consumers facing insurance fraud. Finally, LB 1082, which would have required telecommunications providers to further protect customers from unsolicited and spoofed calls and text messages, did not cross the proverbial finish line. However, the NBA is committed to additional strategies to address spoofing. Most recently, the Federal Communications Commission, with input from the states and the American Bankers Association, enacted enhanced penalties upon organizations that originate spoofed phone calls and text messages.

Consumer Awareness

Last, but certainly not least, the NBA launched the “That’s a RED Flag” campaign at the 2026 NBA Annual Convention to further educate Nebraska consumers about consumer fraud, trends and potential responses. The campaign includes the following:

• Printed and promotional materials (some available with co-branding) available to member banks for distribution, including brochures, magnets, stickers, temporary tattoos, logo wear, etc. You can view this information on the NBA website (nebankers.org) under the Fraud Resources tab. (Who wouldn’t be excited about a “That’s a RED Flag” t-shirt, golf shirt or logo socks?)
• The NBA commissioned a Lincoln-based marketing firm to produce a series of short anti-fraud videos. These videos will be released over the next three months and placed on various broadcast media, streaming and social media platforms; we encourage your bank to share these resources on your social media outlets. The NBA website includes a social media kit for banks.
• Finally, consumers who want to learn more about types of fraud, as well as potential action steps, can visit thatsaREDflag.com for more information.

Obviously, we will never be able to fully stop the rampant fraud that is occurring across our state. However, we owe it to ourselves, our banks, our customers and our communities to aggressively pursue fraud mitigation strategies at every corner. I encourage you to get involved in the NBA’s efforts to learn about and educate others on the red flags of fraud!