In recognition of April being proclaimed Fraud Prevention Month by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio Department of Commerce is highlighting the growing threats facing consumers, and the agency’s work to protect Ohioans through education, enforcement and accountability.
From romance fraud to deed fraud, and AI?powered impersonation schemes to the financial exploitation of older adults, fraud continues to evolve at a rapid pace. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, Americans reported more than 859,000 complaints and over $16 billion in losses in 2024, which is a 33% increase from the previous year. In Ohio, the Federal Trade Commission found that identity theft was the most common online complaint in 2024, with residents filing 27,766 reports.
Across Commerce, multiple divisions work daily to identify, stop and alert Ohioans to scams before they’re impacted, while…
THE TD BANK INSIDER “BRIBE-FOR-DATA” SCHEME (USA)
Date: February 17, 2026 Perpetrator: Edward Low (Former Bank Employee)
Case Description: In a high-profile case of “Insider Threat,” Edward Low, a former employee of TD Bank in New York, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey federal court to accepting bribes in exchange for confidential customer data. Between 2021 and 2022, Low leveraged his internal access to harvest the personal details of high-balance account holders. He then sold this “hot data” to external fraud syndicates for as little as $26,700 in personal kickbacks.
The external fraudsters used the information Low provided to conduct “Account Takeovers” (ATO), creating fraudulent checks and falsifying bank records to drain over $500,000 from unsuspecting customers. Low even went as far as helping co-conspirators open shell company accounts at a second financial institution where he was later employed. He now faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. This case has sent shockwaves through the global banking sector, highlighting that even the most robust external firewalls cannot protect against a “rogue insider” with administrative credentials.
Link to Original: US Dept of Justice – TD Bank Insider Plea