What’s up, fraud fighters, and welcome to Fraud Forward.

In this episode, I am sitting down with Eric Shen, inspector in charge of the criminal investigations group for the United States Postal Inspection Service, to talk about something I think way too many fraud teams overlook: USPIS financial crime.

When financial crime escalates, most of us immediately think FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security, or local law enforcement. And listen, those partners matter. But the Postal Inspection Service is one of the most powerful investigative partners in financial crime investigations, especially when mail theft, check fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, money laundering, or organized fraud networks are part of the picture.

This conversation is about more than stolen mail or missing packages. It is about how physical infrastructure still connects to modern financial institution fraud, how fraud teams can build stronger law enforcement partnerships, and why collaboration has to happen before the big case hits your desk.

Because behind every fraud case is a real person. A member. A customer. A family. A business. Someone whose trust, dignity, and financial stability may have been shaken in a way they will never forget.

And we, fraud fighters, have a responsibility to do something about that.

• A practical breakdown of how USPIS financial crime investigations work
• Why the United States Postal Inspection Service matters to banks, credit unions, fintechs, and payments companies
• How mail theft connects to check fraud, mail fraud, identity theft, bank fraud, and money laundering
• Why physical mail still matters, even in a digital fraud environment
• How organized fraud networks use stolen mail, altered checks, social media, and other channels to scale financial crime
• What makes a strong fraud referral to law enforcement
• Why relationship building matters before major fraud investigations happen
• How IAFCI and other industry networks help financial crime investigators connect the dots
• Why criminals are using social media, Telegram, and other platforms to organize fraud activity
• How AI and agentic AI are changing the future of financial crime investigations
• Why human oversight still matters when we use technology to fight fraud

• Fraud fighters at banks and credit unions
• Community bank and credit union leaders
• BSA, AML, fraud, and compliance teams
• Fintech and payments risk teams
• Financial crime investigators
• Frontline teams who see suspicious activity before anyone else does
• Law enforcement partners working fraud investigations and financial crime cases
• Risk leaders trying to improve referral and escalation processes
• Anyone responsible for fraud prevention, investigation, intelligence sharing, or victim support

This episode is for the teams who are trying to protect people in the middle of a fraud landscape that is moving fast.