Bank of America plans 1,000 “Scaminars” in drive to curb scams, fraud

Bank of America said it will host 1,000 in-person scam and fraud prevention seminars, dubbed “Scaminars,” throughout the remainder of 2026. The announcement, made in connection with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, positions the effort as a proactive public-facing step aimed at protecting clients from fraud schemes that can target older adults and other vulnerable groups.

According to the announcement carried by Yahoo Finance, the bank plans to hold the seminars across the coming months, with the stated goal of helping clients recognize scams and reduce the chances that fraudsters can exploit personal information or banking access. The bank did not, in the posted account, provide a timetable by city or outline how many sessions will be held in specific markets.

Bank of America’s choice of the term “Scaminars” reflects a broader shift across financial services toward public education as a first line of defense. Fraud prevention efforts in retail banking typically combine customer messaging, account monitoring, and controls inside digital and branch channels, but the effectiveness of those measures often depends on customers being able to spot social engineering tactics in real time.

While the announcement emphasizes seminars as the centerpiece of the program, it does not detail what teaching materials will be used, whether sessions will be offered in multiple languages, or how attendance will be tracked. It also does not specify whether Bank of America will partner with community organizations, senior centers, law enforcement, or consumer protection groups to extend reach beyond its own events.

In the absence of additional disclosure in the report, it is unclear what specific scam categories the bank will focus on. Common scam types include impersonation of financial institutions or government agencies, phishing and account-access fraud, and investment or “romance” schemes. Banks often tailor content to the tactics that regulators and law enforcement have seen rising in recent months, but this level of detail was not included in the announcement account.

Bank of America, like other large banks, has faced sustained pressure from regulators and lawmakers to improve consumer protections, including fraud detection and customer authentication. Education campaigns are part of that landscape, particularly as fraudsters increasingly use phone calls, text messages, and online impersonation to pressure victims into sending money quickly or sharing credentials.

The bank’s disclosure also leaves several practical questions unanswered for potential attendees and media: how to register, whether events are open to the public or limited to existing clients, and what attendance volume the bank expects for each session. It did not provide any information on how it will measure outcomes, such as reduction in scam-related account losses or improvements in client awareness.

For clients and observers, what to watch next is whether Bank of America publishes a fuller event schedule, outlines the seminar curriculum, and shares follow-on steps if the program proves scalable. Separately, the bank’s continued fraud-prevention messaging could announcement how it intends to align these in-person events with in-app alerts, website education, and call-center guidance as the 2026 rollout progresses.