I would like to file a SAR on a customer. The reason will be check fraud. The amount is less than $5,000. My resource book says we are required to file a SAR if the suspect has been identified and transactions $5000 or more, however you may file on transactions involving lesser amounts. Do you agree? If the key word here is "required" at $5000 or more is it simply saying it is optional under $5000?

Yes, I agree. You may file for less than $5,000 on a non-insider. All insider issues are filed regardless of $ amount.

Yes, it's optional under $5000 as long as its not an insider. The instructions on the SAR form in the "When to file" section say:

"A Depository Institution may also file with the Treasury Department by using the Suspicious Activity Report specified in 31 CFR Part 103.18, a report of any suspicious transaction that it believes is relevant to the possible violation of
any law or regulation but whose reporting is not required by this section."

Please give due consideration to the possibility that filing a SAR below the threshold amount is a waste of time.

Ken, why is it a waste of time? I am also thinking that my examiners will criticize me if I do not. Perhaps they just have me running scared!

Possibly a waste of time if it doesn't get associated with other SARs in the IRS database and trigger a reaction from law enforcement. Let's face it, check frauds under $5K aren't all that sexy when you consider all the other stuff that law enforcement deals with. So if your SAR is the only one in the vast collection of data, it will likely go unnoticed.

The flip side of the argument, of course, is that your SAR, along with others, might form enough of a picture to get something moving.

And of course the only time you can afford to have this sort of discussion is when your filing is optional.

I'm not saying don't file it, just making the suggestion that you should make a decision about whether or not it's a waste of time.

Some examiners do believe that non required filings may make the net cast over criminal activity more effective. While they are entitled to that belief, they are not entitled to criticize you for not filing a SAR that the law did not require you to file.

My analogy is I could go outside every 10 minutes and fire a shotgun in the air. Since my home is in the flight path for migratory birds, it's possible that I might hit one. That remote possibility would not convince me that it was worth my time and ammunition.

Too many really juicy requried SARs go unacknowledged for me to believe in the likelihood that a voluntary SAR might do some good... Obviously, that's a personal opinion.