Are flashcards effective for the CAMS exam?

Yes. Flashcards use active recall — retrieving an answer from memory — which research shows is one of the most effective ways to make information stick, especially for the many AML terms, typologies, standards, and rules the CAMS exam tests.

What topics do the CAMS flashcards cover?

All four content areas: Risks and Methods of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing, Compliance Standards for AML and CFT, AML, CFT and Sanctions Compliance Programs, and Conducting and Supporting the Investigation Process — including FATF, the BSA, KYC/CDD, SARs, and sanctions.

How should I study with these flashcards?

Mix the modes: flip to learn, type to test recall, match for speed, and quiz to check yourself. Start early, review daily, and spend extra time on the content areas outside your day-to-day specialty — that is where most candidates lose points.

Are the CAMS flashcards free?

Yes — 100% free, all four study modes, no paywall and no sign-up.

The process of disguising the illegal origin of criminal proceeds so they appear to come from a legitimate source.

Three stages of money laundering

Placement, layering, and integration.

The first stage of money laundering: introducing illicit cash into the financial system (e.g., bank deposits, currency exchange, buying assets).

The second stage: moving funds through complex layers of transactions to obscure their origin and break the audit trail.

The third stage: reintroducing laundered funds into the legitimate economy as apparently clean money (e.g., real estate, businesses).

Terrorist financing (TF)

Providing or collecting funds to carry out terrorist acts; funds may come from legitimate or illicit sources, and amounts are often small.

Money laundering vs. terrorist financing

Money laundering disguises the illegal SOURCE of funds; terrorist financing disguises the illegal USE or DESTINATION of funds, which may be legitimately sourced.

The underlying criminal activity (e.g., drug trafficking, fraud, corruption) that generates the proceeds being laundered.

Breaking a large transaction into smaller amounts to evade reporting or recordkeeping thresholds; a federal crime in the U.S.

A form of structuring using multiple people (smurfs) to make many small deposits below the reporting threshold.

Trade-based money laundering (TBML)

Disguising proceeds and moving value through trade transactions using techniques like over- or under-invoicing, multiple invoicing, or misrepresenting goods.

Stating a price higher than the true value of goods to transfer extra value to the exporter; a TBML technique.

Stating a price lower than the true value of goods to transfer value to the importer; a TBML technique.

An informal value transfer system that moves money based on trust and a network of brokers (hawaladars), often outside the formal banking system.

Informal value transfer system (IVTS)

A money-transfer network that operates outside or parallel to regulated financial institutions (e.g., hawala, hundi, fei ch'ien).

A company with no significant operations or assets, often used to hide beneficial ownership and obscure the flow of funds.

A pre-registered company that has been 'on the shelf' for a period and is then sold to give an appearance of longevity and legitimacy.

A business with legitimate operations that is used to launder illicit funds by commingling them with real revenue.

A fraud scheme in which credit is built up and maxed out with no intent to repay, common with credit cards and trade credit.

Moving funds out of a country and bringing them back disguised as foreign investment to legitimize the money.

A person who transfers illegally acquired money on behalf of others, often recruited unwittingly, to launder proceeds.

A laundering method that exploits legitimate remittance transfers by depositing illicit funds into the account of an unwitting recipient.

Layering through wire transfers

Rapidly moving funds among accounts and jurisdictions, often through correspondent banks, to obscure the source.

Physically transporting large quantities of currency across borders to place illicit proceeds outside reporting systems.

Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE)

A trade-based laundering scheme that uses peso brokers to convert drug dollars into pesos through legitimate trade purchases.

Real estate laundering

Using property purchases (often with cash, shell companies, or third parties) to integrate illicit funds into the legitimate economy.

Casinos and gaming risk

Casinos can be used to launder cash by buying chips, gambling minimally, and cashing out as 'winnings' (chip walking, minimal play).

Virtual asset / cryptocurrency risk

Cryptocurrencies can enable pseudonymous, cross-border value transfer; risks include mixers, tumblers, and unhosted wallets.

Services that pool and redistribute cryptocurrency to obscure the link between sending and receiving addresses.

New payment methods (NPM)

Prepaid cards, e-money, mobile and internet payments that can pose AML risk through anonymity, speed, and limited oversight.

Proliferation financing

Providing funds or services for the manufacture, acquisition, or transfer of weapons of mass destruction in breach of international obligations.

Human trafficking and ML

Proceeds of human trafficking and migrant smuggling are laundered through cash businesses, money services, and front companies.

Corruption / kleptocracy

Misuse of public office for private gain; corrupt officials launder proceeds via shell companies, real estate, and offshore accounts.

Tax evasion as predicate

Illegally avoiding taxes; under many regimes (and FATF) tax crimes are designated predicate offenses for money laundering.

Using policies (e.g., single-premium products, early surrender for a refund) to launder funds through the insurance sector.

Securities laundering

Using brokerage accounts, securities trades, and wash trading to layer and integrate illicit funds.

Concentration accounts risk

Internal omnibus accounts that commingle funds and can obscure the identity of the underlying customers if not properly tracked.

An account in one location that receives many cash deposits, often below the threshold, then quickly withdrawn elsewhere.

An unusual or suspicious indicator in customer behavior or transactions that may signal money laundering or terrorist financing.

Red flag: structuring

Multiple cash transactions just below the reporting threshold, especially across branches or days.

Red flag: rapid movement

Funds deposited and quickly wired out with no apparent business purpose ('pass-through' activity).

Red flag: reluctance to provide information

A customer who avoids identification, gives inconsistent details, or resists due-diligence requests.

Red flag: third-party activity

Transactions inconsistent with the customer's profile, or accounts used by unrelated third parties.

Red flag: high-risk geography

Transactions involving jurisdictions known for weak AML controls, secrecy, or sanctions exposure.

Vulnerability vs. threat

A threat is the criminal actor or activity; a vulnerability is a weakness (e.g., a product, channel, or control gap) that the threat can exploit.

The level of risk before controls are applied — driven by customer, product, geography, and channel factors.

Your FREE CAMS Flashcards 2026 – 250+ Cards

Realistic, CAMS exam-style flashcards across all four ACAMS content areas — flip, match, type, and quiz yourself.

Master cards to boost your scoreMaster cards to raise your exam readiness score

How well do you know them?

CAMS Flashcards

Money laundering: The process of disguising the illegal origin of criminal proceeds so they appear to come from a legitimate source.
Three stages of money laundering: Placement, layering, and integration.
Placement: The first stage of money laundering: introducing illicit cash into the financial system (e.g., bank deposits, currency exchange, buying assets).
Layering: The second stage: moving funds through complex layers of transactions to obscure their origin and break the audit trail.
Integration: The third stage: reintroducing laundered funds into the legitimate economy as apparently clean money (e.g., real estate, businesses).
Terrorist financing (TF): Providing or collecting funds to carry out terrorist acts; funds may come from legitimate or illicit sources, and amounts are often small.
Money laundering vs. terrorist financing: Money laundering disguises the illegal SOURCE of funds; terrorist financing disguises the illegal USE or DESTINATION of funds, which may be legitimately sourced.
Predicate offense: The underlying criminal activity (e.g., drug trafficking, fraud, corruption) that generates the proceeds being laundered.
Structuring: Breaking a large transaction into smaller amounts to evade reporting or recordkeeping thresholds; a federal crime in the U.S.
Smurfing: A form of structuring using multiple people (smurfs) to make many small deposits below the reporting threshold.
Trade-based money laundering (TBML): Disguising proceeds and moving value through trade transactions using techniques like over- or under-invoicing, multiple invoicing, or misrepresenting goods.
Over-invoicing: Stating a price higher than the true value of goods to transfer extra value to the exporter; a TBML technique.
Under-invoicing: Stating a price lower than the true value of goods to transfer value to the importer; a TBML technique.
Hawala: An informal value transfer system that moves money based on trust and a network of brokers (hawaladars), often outside the formal banking system.
Informal value transfer system (IVTS): A money-transfer network that operates outside or parallel to regulated financial institutions (e.g., hawala, hundi, fei ch'ien).
Shell company: A company with no significant operations or assets, often used to hide beneficial ownership and obscure the flow of funds.
Shelf company: A pre-registered company that has been 'on the shelf' for a period and is then sold to give an appearance of longevity and legitimacy.
Front company: A business with legitimate operations that is used to launder illicit funds by commingling them with real revenue.
Bust-out: A fraud scheme in which credit is built up and maxed out with no intent to repay, common with credit cards and trade credit.
Round-tripping: Moving funds out of a country and bringing them back disguised as foreign investment to legitimize the money.
Money mule: A person who transfers illegally acquired money on behalf of others, often recruited unwittingly, to launder proceeds.
Cuckoo smurfing: A laundering method that exploits legitimate remittance transfers by depositing illicit funds into the account of an unwitting recipient.
Layering through wire transfers: Rapidly moving funds among accounts and jurisdictions, often through correspondent banks, to obscure the source.
Bulk cash smuggling: Physically transporting large quantities of currency across borders to place illicit proceeds outside reporting systems.
Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE): A trade-based laundering scheme that uses peso brokers to convert drug dollars into pesos through legitimate trade purchases.
Real estate laundering: Using property purchases (often with cash, shell companies, or third parties) to integrate illicit funds into the legitimate economy.
Casinos and gaming risk: Casinos can be used to launder cash by buying chips, gambling minimally, and cashing out as 'winnings' (chip walking, minimal play).
Virtual asset / cryptocurrency risk: Cryptocurrencies can enable pseudonymous, cross-border value transfer; risks include mixers, tumblers, and unhosted wallets.
Mixers / tumblers: Services that pool and redistribute cryptocurrency to obscure the link between sending and receiving addresses.
New payment methods (NPM): Prepaid cards, e-money, mobile and internet payments that can pose AML risk through anonymity, speed, and limited oversight.
Proliferation financing: Providing funds or services for the manufacture, acquisition, or transfer of weapons of mass destruction in breach of international obligations.
Human trafficking and ML: Proceeds of human trafficking and migrant smuggling are laundered through cash businesses, money services, and front companies.
Corruption / kleptocracy: Misuse of public office for private gain; corrupt officials launder proceeds via shell companies, real estate, and offshore accounts.
Tax evasion as predicate: Illegally avoiding taxes; under many regimes (and FATF) tax crimes are designated predicate offenses for money laundering.
Insurance laundering: Using policies (e.g., single-premium products, early surrender for a refund) to launder funds through the insurance sector.
Securities laundering: Using brokerage accounts, securities trades, and wash trading to layer and integrate illicit funds.
Concentration accounts risk: Internal omnibus accounts that commingle funds and can obscure the identity of the underlying customers if not properly tracked.
Funnel account: An account in one location that receives many cash deposits, often below the threshold, then quickly withdrawn elsewhere.
Red flag: An unusual or suspicious indicator in customer behavior or transactions that may signal money laundering or terrorist financing.
Red flag: structuring: Multiple cash transactions just below the reporting threshold, especially across branches or days.
Red flag: rapid movement: Funds deposited and quickly wired out with no apparent business purpose ('pass-through' activity).
Red flag: reluctance to provide information: A customer who avoids identification, gives inconsistent details, or resists due-diligence requests.
Red flag: third-party activity: Transactions inconsistent with the customer's profile, or accounts used by unrelated third parties.
Red flag: high-risk geography: Transactions involving jurisdictions known for weak AML controls, secrecy, or sanctions exposure.
Vulnerability vs. threat: A threat is the criminal actor or activity; a vulnerability is a weakness (e.g., a product, channel, or control gap) that the threat can exploit.
Inherent risk: The level of risk before controls are applied — driven by customer, product, geography, and channel factors.
Residual risk: The level of risk that remains after mitigating controls are applied.
FATF: The Financial Action Task Force — the global standard-setter for AML, CFT, and counter-proliferation financing; issues the 40 Recommendations.
FATF 40 Recommendations: FATF's comprehensive framework of measures countries should implement to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing.
FATF mutual evaluation: A peer review assessing a country's technical compliance with the FATF standards and the effectiveness of its AML/CFT system.
FATF grey list: FATF's list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring that have strategic AML/CFT deficiencies and have committed to address them.
FATF black list: FATF's list of high-risk jurisdictions (call for action) with serious deficiencies; members apply enhanced due diligence or countermeasures.
Risk-based approach (RBA): FATF's core principle: identify, assess, and apply AML/CFT resources and controls in proportion to the risks present.
FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs): Regional organizations (e.g., APG, MONEYVAL, GAFILAT) that promote and assess FATF standards within their regions.
Basel Committee (BCBS): The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision; issues 'Sound management of risks related to money laundering and financing of terrorism' guidance for banks.
Wolfsberg Group: An association of global banks that publishes AML/CFT best-practice guidance, including the correspondent banking and CBDDQ standards.
Wolfsberg CBDDQ: The Correspondent Banking Due Diligence Questionnaire — a standardized form for assessing correspondent banking relationships.
Egmont Group: The global network of Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) that facilitates secure information sharing on money laundering and terrorist financing.
Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU): A national agency that receives, analyzes, and disseminates suspicious activity reports and other financial intelligence (in the U.S., FinCEN).
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA): The 1970 U.S. law (the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act) requiring recordkeeping and reporting to detect and prevent money laundering.
FinCEN: The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network — the U.S. FIU and BSA administrator within the Department of the Treasury.
USA PATRIOT Act: 2001 U.S. law that strengthened AML rules, including customer identification (Section 326), correspondent account controls, and Section 311/312/313.
PATRIOT Act Section 311: Allows the U.S. Treasury to designate a jurisdiction, institution, or transaction type as a 'primary money laundering concern' and impose special measures.
PATRIOT Act Section 312: Requires enhanced due diligence for correspondent accounts of foreign banks and for private banking accounts of non-U.S. persons.
PATRIOT Act Section 313: Prohibits U.S. banks from maintaining correspondent accounts for foreign shell banks.
Section 314(a): A FinCEN information-sharing process letting law enforcement request, via FinCEN, that institutions search records for named subjects.
Section 314(b): A voluntary safe harbor allowing financial institutions to share information with each other to identify and report ML/TF.
OFAC: The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control — administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on U.S. foreign policy.
SDN List: OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List — parties whose assets are blocked and with whom U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing.
Sanctions: Restrictive measures (asset freezes, trade bans, travel bans) imposed by governments or bodies to influence behavior or punish conduct.
Comprehensive vs. targeted sanctions: Comprehensive sanctions broadly restrict dealings with a whole country; targeted (smart) sanctions focus on specific persons, entities, or sectors.
50 Percent Rule (OFAC): An entity owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more blocked persons is itself treated as blocked, even if not separately listed.
Sectoral sanctions: Sanctions targeting specific sectors of an economy (e.g., finance, energy) rather than a whole country or individual.
EU Anti-Money Laundering Directives: A series of EU directives (notably the 4th, 5th, and 6th) harmonizing AML/CFT requirements across member states.
4AMLD: The EU's Fourth AML Directive — introduced a risk-based approach, beneficial ownership registers, and expanded PEP requirements.
5AMLD: The Fifth AML Directive — extended AML rules to virtual asset service providers and prepaid cards and enhanced beneficial-ownership transparency.
6AMLD: The Sixth AML Directive — harmonized the definition of money laundering, listed 22 predicate offenses, and extended liability to legal persons.
UK Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA): The UK's principal money-laundering law, creating the SAR regime and offenses for concealing, arranging, and acquiring criminal property.
UN conventions (Vienna / Palermo): The 1988 Vienna Convention (drug trafficking) and 2000 Palermo Convention (transnational organized crime) underpin international AML obligations.
Mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT): A formal agreement between countries to gather and exchange evidence for criminal investigations and prosecutions.
Corporate Transparency Act (CTA): U.S. law requiring many companies to report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN to combat the misuse of anonymous shell companies.
Designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs): Non-bank sectors with AML obligations: casinos, real estate agents, dealers in precious metals/stones, lawyers, notaries, and accountants.
Money services business (MSB): A business that transmits or converts money (money transmitters, currency dealers, check cashers, prepaid issuers); subject to BSA registration.
Regulator vs. FIU: A regulator supervises institutions for AML compliance; the FIU receives and analyzes suspicious activity reports and financial intelligence.
Travel Rule: A FATF/BSA requirement that institutions pass originator and beneficiary information along with qualifying funds and virtual asset transfers.
Recordkeeping requirement: BSA rules requiring institutions to retain CDD, transaction, and reporting records (generally five years) for examination and investigation.
Equivalent jurisdiction: A country deemed to have AML/CFT standards comparable to one's own, which can affect the level of due diligence applied.
Secrecy / haven jurisdiction: A jurisdiction offering strong financial secrecy and minimal transparency, posing elevated AML risk.
Counter-proliferation financing (CPF): Measures to prevent financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; part of the FATF mandate.
Group-wide AML program: An enterprise-wide program ensuring consistent AML/CFT standards and information sharing across all branches and subsidiaries of a group.
Pillars of an AML program: The BSA framework: (1) internal controls/policies, (2) a designated compliance officer, (3) ongoing training, (4) independent testing/audit, and (5) risk-based CDD.
BSA/AML Compliance Officer: The designated individual responsible for day-to-day oversight of the AML program; must have authority, resources, and independence.
Internal controls: The policies, procedures, and processes designed to limit and control risks and to ensure compliance with AML/CFT laws.
Independent testing / audit: A periodic, objective review of the AML program's adequacy and effectiveness, performed by qualified parties not involved in its operation.
AML training: Ongoing, role-appropriate training so staff can recognize red flags and understand their reporting and compliance obligations.
Customer due diligence (CDD): The process of identifying and verifying customers, understanding the nature of the relationship, and conducting ongoing monitoring.
Know Your Customer (KYC): Policies and procedures to verify a customer's identity and assess risk; a foundation of CDD.
Customer Identification Program (CIP): The BSA requirement (PATRIOT Act 326) to collect and verify identifying information (name, DOB, address, ID number) before opening an account.
Enhanced due diligence (EDD): Additional scrutiny applied to higher-risk customers, products, or geographies, such as PEPs and correspondent banking relationships.
Simplified due diligence (SDD): Reduced measures permitted for lower-risk customers or products where the ML/TF risk is demonstrably low.
Beneficial owner: The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer or on whose behalf a transaction is conducted.
Ultimate beneficial owner (UBO): The natural person at the top of an ownership chain who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity (FinCEN: 25%+ ownership and a control prong).
CDD Rule beneficial ownership: FinCEN's rule requiring covered institutions to identify beneficial owners of legal entity customers: each 25%+ owner plus one control person.
Politically exposed person (PEP): An individual entrusted with a prominent public function, who poses higher corruption/bribery risk and warrants enhanced due diligence.
Domestic vs. foreign PEP: FATF distinguishes foreign PEPs (always higher risk, requiring EDD) from domestic PEPs and international-organization PEPs (risk-based EDD).
Source of funds vs. source of wealth: Source of funds is the origin of the specific money in a transaction; source of wealth is how the customer's total assets were accumulated.
Risk assessment: A documented analysis of an institution's ML/TF risks across customers, products, services, geographies, and channels to drive controls.
Risk rating / scoring: Assigning customers and relationships a risk level (e.g., low/medium/high) to determine the intensity of due diligence and monitoring.
Ongoing monitoring: Continuously reviewing transactions and updating customer information to ensure activity is consistent with the known profile.
Suspicious activity report (SAR): A report filed with the FIU/FinCEN when an institution knows, suspects, or has reason to suspect activity involves illegal funds or ML/TF.
Suspicious transaction report (STR): The international term equivalent to a SAR — a report of suspicious activity filed with the national FIU.
SAR filing deadline (U.S.): Generally 30 calendar days after detecting facts that constitute a basis for filing (60 days if no suspect is identified).
Tipping off: Unlawfully disclosing to a customer (or a third party) that a SAR/STR has been or will be filed; prohibited in most regimes.
SAR confidentiality: The requirement to keep the existence and content of a SAR confidential, sharing only as permitted by law (the SAR safe harbor protects filers).
Currency Transaction Report (CTR): A BSA report filed for cash transactions exceeding USD 10,000 in a single business day, by or on behalf of one person.
CTR aggregation: Combining multiple same-day cash transactions by or for the same person to determine whether the USD 10,000 CTR threshold is met.
Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR): A FinCEN report required of U.S. persons with foreign financial accounts exceeding USD 10,000 in aggregate during the year.
Monetary instrument log: A BSA record of cash sales of monetary instruments (e.g., money orders, cashier's checks) between USD 3,000 and USD 10,000.
Form 8300: A report (filed with the IRS/FinCEN) for cash received over USD 10,000 in a trade or business.
Onboarding / account opening controls: CIP, beneficial ownership identification, sanctions/PEP screening, and risk rating performed before or at account opening.
Periodic review: Scheduled refresh of customer due diligence based on risk (e.g., high-risk annually) to keep information current.
Trigger event review: A CDD refresh prompted by a change such as new ownership, a large or unusual transaction, or adverse news.
Adverse media screening: Reviewing negative news sources for information linking a customer to financial crime, corruption, or sanctions exposure.
De-risking: Terminating or restricting relationships with customers or categories deemed high-risk to avoid managing the risk, rather than mitigating it.
Three lines of defense: A governance model: (1) the business owns and manages risk, (2) compliance/risk oversees it, and (3) internal audit independently assures it.
Board and senior management oversight: Leadership's responsibility to set the AML culture, approve the program and risk appetite, and ensure adequate resources.
Culture of compliance: An organizational environment where leadership and staff prioritize ethical conduct and AML obligations across the institution.
Compliance program independence: The compliance function's ability to act without undue influence from the business lines it oversees.
Whistleblower / escalation: Channels allowing employees to report concerns; many regimes (e.g., AMLA) provide whistleblower protections and rewards.
Politically exposed person tiers: Categories of PEPs (foreign, domestic, international organization) plus close associates and family members, each with risk-based scrutiny.
Correspondent banking: Where one bank (correspondent) provides services to another (respondent); higher-risk because the correspondent relies on the respondent's KYC.
Nested / downstream correspondent: When a respondent bank gives its own customers access to a correspondent account, obscuring the underlying parties (heightened risk).
Payable-through account (PTA): A correspondent account a foreign bank's customers can use directly to transact; high-risk and subject to enhanced due diligence.
Shell bank: A bank with no physical presence and no affiliation with a regulated financial group; U.S. institutions are prohibited from dealing with them.
Private banking: High-touch services for wealthy clients; higher AML risk requiring EDD, including source-of-wealth verification (PATRIOT Act 312).
Regulatory examination: A supervisory review verifying that an institution's AML program meets legal requirements and operates effectively.
Look-back review: A retrospective review of past activity (often regulator-mandated) to identify unreported suspicious activity after a program failure.
Civil money penalty (CMP): A monetary fine imposed by regulators (e.g., FinCEN, OFAC) for AML or sanctions violations.
Consent order: A formal settlement between a regulator and an institution requiring corrective actions and often penalties for compliance failures.
Transaction monitoring: Automated and manual review of transactions against rules, thresholds, and behavioral patterns to detect suspicious activity.
Transaction monitoring scenarios: Predefined rules or models (e.g., structuring, rapid movement, high-risk geography) that generate alerts for review.
Rules-based monitoring: Detection using fixed thresholds and logic (e.g., cash > USD 9,500); simple and transparent but can produce many false positives.
Behavioral / anomaly detection: Models that flag activity deviating from a customer's established baseline or peer group.
Alert: An automated flag generated when activity meets a monitoring scenario's criteria, requiring analyst review and disposition.
Alert disposition: The investigator's decision to close an alert as a false positive or escalate it for further investigation or a SAR.
False positive: An alert that, after review, turns out not to indicate suspicious activity; a major operational cost in AML monitoring.
Case management system: Software that consolidates alerts, customer data, and investigation notes to support analysts and document decisions.
Sanctions screening: Comparing customers and transactions against sanctions lists (e.g., OFAC SDN, UN, EU) to prevent prohibited dealings.
Watchlist screening: Screening parties against sanctions, PEP, and adverse-media lists at onboarding and on an ongoing basis.
Fuzzy matching: A screening technique that detects approximate matches to account for spelling variations, transliteration, and aliases.
Name screening vs. transaction screening: Name screening checks parties against lists; transaction (payment) screening checks payment messages in real time before processing.
True match vs. false hit: A true match correctly identifies a listed party; a false hit (false positive) is a non-match flagged due to similar data.
List management: Keeping sanctions and watchlists current and configuring screening thresholds to balance detection and false positives.
KYC / CDD technology: Tools for identity verification, document checks, beneficial ownership mapping, and risk scoring during onboarding.
Identity verification (IDV): Confirming a customer is who they claim to be using documents, databases, biometrics, or electronic verification.
eKYC: Electronic KYC — digital identity verification using data sources, document scanning, and biometrics, common in remote onboarding.
Biometric verification: Using fingerprints, facial recognition, or other physical traits to verify identity and reduce impersonation fraud.
Liveness detection: Technology confirming a real, live person is present during remote onboarding to defeat photos, masks, or deepfakes.
Artificial intelligence in AML: Machine learning used to improve detection, reduce false positives, segment customers, and prioritize alerts; requires explainability and governance.
Machine learning model: An algorithm trained on data to detect patterns; in AML, used for risk scoring, anomaly detection, and alert triage.
Model risk management: Governance ensuring analytics and monitoring models are validated, documented, tuned, and free of bias or error.
Model validation: Independent testing to confirm a monitoring or screening model performs as intended and detects the intended risks.
Threshold tuning / optimization: Adjusting monitoring rule thresholds (often via above- and below-the-line testing) to balance detection against false positives.
Above-the-line / below-the-line testing: Sampling alerts at and just below thresholds to confirm thresholds capture suspicious activity without excessive noise.
Data quality: Accurate, complete, and timely data; poor data quality is a leading cause of monitoring and screening failures.
Data lineage: The documented flow of data from source to system, essential for reliable monitoring, reporting, and audits.
Robotic process automation (RPA): Software bots that automate repetitive AML tasks such as data gathering, alert enrichment, and report population.
Network / link analysis: Visualizing relationships among accounts, entities, and transactions to uncover hidden connections and complex schemes.
Entity resolution: Linking records that refer to the same person or entity across systems to build a single, accurate customer view.
Blockchain analytics: Tools that trace cryptocurrency flows across the blockchain, attribute addresses, and flag exposure to illicit wallets or mixers.
RegTech: Technology that helps institutions comply with regulations more efficiently (e.g., automated reporting, screening, monitoring).
SupTech: Technology used by supervisors and regulators to collect and analyze data and oversee compliance.
SAR e-filing: Electronic submission of SARs/CTRs to the FIU (in the U.S., via the FinCEN BSA E-Filing System).
GoAML: A UNODC software platform many FIUs use to collect, manage, and analyze STRs and other reports.
Investigation: A structured review that gathers facts, analyzes transactions and KYC, and determines whether to file a SAR or take other action.
Investigation workflow: Alert triage, information gathering, transaction and relationship analysis, conclusion, and documentation/escalation.
Subpoena / law enforcement request: A legal demand for records that institutions must handle while preserving confidentiality and the integrity of any investigation.
Information sharing (314(b)): Technology-enabled, voluntary sharing among institutions under a safe harbor to better detect and report ML/TF.
Continuous activity review (CAR): Ongoing, automated review of customer activity to keep risk ratings and monitoring aligned with current behavior.
Audit trail / documentation: A complete, retrievable record of decisions and actions, essential to defend dispositions and demonstrate compliance to examiners.
Quality assurance (QA) in AML: Reviewing a sample of alert and SAR decisions to confirm consistency, accuracy, and adherence to procedures.
Management information / metrics: Reporting (alert volumes, SAR counts, aging, false-positive rates) that lets leadership oversee program effectiveness.
Sanctions list update / delta: The process of ingesting changes to sanctions lists and rescreening affected customers and pending payments.
Payment screening hold: Pausing a payment that hits a sanctions or watchlist alert until an analyst clears or blocks it.
Blocking vs. rejecting (OFAC): Blocking freezes prohibited funds in a segregated account; rejecting refuses a transaction without freezing; both must be reported to OFAC.
Currency exchange / casa de cambio risk: Money exchangers can be used to convert illicit cash into other currencies or instruments, layering proceeds with limited oversight.
Wire stripping: Removing or altering originator/beneficiary information in a payment message to evade sanctions screening; an illegal layering technique.
Commingling: Mixing illicit funds with legitimate business revenue to disguise their criminal origin, common in cash-intensive front companies.
Cash-intensive business: A business with high legitimate cash flow (restaurants, car washes, parking) that is attractive for commingling illicit cash.
Loan-back scheme: Laundering in which a launderer 'lends' themselves their own illicit funds (often through an offshore entity) to create an appearance of legitimacy.
Gatekeeper: A professional (lawyer, accountant, trust/company service provider) whose services can be abused to launder funds or hide ownership.
Trust and company service provider (TCSP): A provider that forms companies, supplies directors, or administers trusts; a DNFBP that can be exploited to obscure beneficial ownership.
Bearer shares: Shares owned by whoever physically holds the certificate, with no register of ownership; a high-risk vehicle for hiding beneficial owners.
Nominee director / shareholder: A person who acts as a front for the true owner of a company, concealing the real beneficial owner.
Offshore financial center: A low-tax, high-secrecy jurisdiction used (legitimately or abusively) to hold assets and obscure ownership.
Identity theft / synthetic identity: Using stolen or fabricated identities to open accounts and move illicit funds while evading KYC.
Elder financial exploitation: Fraud targeting older adults; proceeds are laundered and institutions are expected to detect and report it.
Ransomware and ML: Extortion payments (often in cryptocurrency) are laundered through mixers and exchanges; subject to OFAC advisories.
Wildlife / environmental crime: Illegal trade in protected species and resources generates proceeds laundered through trade and shell companies; a growing FATF focus.
Charity / NPO abuse: Non-profit organizations can be misused to raise, move, or disguise funds for terrorist financing (FATF Recommendation 8).
Foreign terrorist fighter financing: Small-value funding (self-funding, social media solicitation, money remitters) to support individuals traveling to conflict zones.
Micro-structuring: Breaking transactions into very small amounts across many channels or instruments to stay under monitoring thresholds.
FATF Recommendation 10: Requires financial institutions to undertake customer due diligence and prohibits anonymous accounts.
FATF Recommendation 16 (Travel Rule): Requires originator and beneficiary information to accompany wire and virtual-asset transfers.
FATF Recommendation 8: Addresses the terrorist-financing risk to non-profit organizations, calling for a risk-based, proportionate response.
Virtual asset service provider (VASP): An entity that exchanges, transfers, or safeguards virtual assets; subject to FATF AML/CFT obligations including the Travel Rule.
Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA): Major U.S. reform that created the beneficial ownership registry, expanded whistleblower rewards, and modernized the BSA.
FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual: The U.S. interagency manual that guides examiners and institutions on BSA/AML compliance expectations.
OFAC General License: An authorization permitting an otherwise-prohibited category of transactions without a specific application.
OFAC Specific License: A case-by-case written authorization from OFAC permitting a particular transaction that would otherwise be prohibited.
Secondary sanctions: Sanctions targeting non-U.S. persons who engage with sanctioned parties, extending reach beyond U.S. jurisdiction.
Consolidated Sanctions List: OFAC's list of parties subject to non-SDN sanctions programs, screened alongside the SDN List.
UN Security Council sanctions: Binding sanctions (e.g., asset freezes, arms embargoes) adopted by the UNSC that member states must implement.
EU consolidated sanctions list: The European Union's list of persons and entities subject to EU restrictive measures.
HM Treasury / OFSI: The UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, which administers and enforces UK financial sanctions.
Money Laundering Regulations (UK MLRs): UK regulations implementing AML/CFT obligations for regulated firms, including CDD and risk assessment.
FinCEN advisory: A FinCEN notice alerting institutions to emerging threats, typologies, or jurisdictions, often with related red flags.
Geographic Targeting Order (GTO): A FinCEN order imposing additional recordkeeping/reporting on transactions in a specific area or sector (e.g., high-value real estate).
Special measures (Section 311): Five graduated measures Treasury can impose on a primary money-laundering concern, up to barring correspondent accounts.
Equivalent / comparable jurisdiction: A country with AML/CFT controls deemed comparable, which can permit reliance on its institutions' CDD.
Cross-border declaration: A requirement to declare currency or bearer instruments above a threshold when crossing borders (FATF Recommendation 32).
Financial Action Task Force typologies: FATF reports describing methods and trends in ML/TF used to inform risk assessments and red flags.
Risk appetite: The amount and type of ML/TF risk an institution is willing to accept, set by the board to guide the program.
Customer risk rating factors: Inputs such as customer type, occupation, products used, geography, and transaction behavior used to assign a risk level.
Higher-risk customers: Categories warranting EDD: PEPs, cash-intensive businesses, MSBs, NPOs, non-resident customers, and complex ownership structures.
New customer vs. existing customer CDD: CDD is performed at onboarding and refreshed through ongoing monitoring and periodic/trigger reviews thereafter.
Beneficial ownership 25% threshold: FinCEN's CDD Rule requires identifying each natural person owning 25% or more of a legal entity customer, plus a control person.
Control prong: The CDD Rule requirement to identify one individual with significant managerial control over a legal entity customer.
Reliance on third parties: Permitting another regulated party to perform elements of CDD, while the relying institution remains ultimately responsible.
Politically exposed person screening: Identifying PEPs, their family members, and close associates to apply enhanced due diligence and senior-management approval.
Senior management approval: Required to onboard or continue higher-risk relationships such as foreign PEPs and certain correspondent accounts.
Sanctions compliance program: A risk-based program with management commitment, risk assessment, internal controls, testing/audit, and training (per OFAC's framework).
OFAC five pillars: OFAC's framework for a sanctions compliance program: management commitment, risk assessment, internal controls, testing/auditing, and training.
Voluntary self-disclosure: Proactively reporting an apparent sanctions or BSA violation to regulators, which can mitigate penalties.
Apparent violation (OFAC): Conduct that may constitute a sanctions violation, evaluated against OFAC's Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines.
Egregious vs. non-egregious case: OFAC's classification of a violation's seriousness, which (with self-disclosure) drives the base penalty calculation.
AML program approval: The board of directors must approve the AML program and ensure it is implemented with adequate resources.
Designated compliance officer authority: The BSA officer needs sufficient seniority, independence, resources, and direct access to the board.
Suspicious activity escalation: The internal process for raising a potential SAR from frontline staff to investigators to the decision-maker.
SAR decision committee: A body that reviews investigations and decides whether to file a SAR, documenting the rationale either way.
Continuing activity SAR: A follow-up SAR filed (often every 90 days in the U.S.) when previously reported suspicious activity continues.
No-SAR decision documentation: Recording the rationale when an alert or investigation does not result in a SAR, to defend the decision to examiners.
Politically exposed person ongoing review: Periodic re-screening and source-of-wealth review of PEP relationships throughout their lifecycle.
Customer acceptance policy: A policy defining which customers the institution will and will not onboard based on risk.
Exit / off-boarding policy: Procedures for terminating relationships that exceed risk appetite, ideally targeted rather than wholesale de-risking.
Training frequency and tailoring: AML training should be at least annual, role-specific, and refreshed when laws, typologies, or systems change.
Independent testing scope: Audit should cover the risk assessment, CDD/EDD, monitoring, screening, reporting, training, and prior-finding remediation.
Investigation prioritization: Triaging alerts and cases by risk so the most serious potential ML/TF is investigated first.
Suspicious activity narrative: The 'who, what, when, where, why, and how' written in a SAR so the FIU and law enforcement can act on it.
SAR quality: A useful SAR has a clear, complete narrative, correct subject and transaction data, and supporting documentation retained.
Subject vs. activity in a SAR: A SAR identifies the subject(s) where known and describes the suspicious activity even when no subject is identified.
Source documentation: Account records, transaction logs, KYC files, and correspondence gathered to support an investigation's conclusion.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT): Publicly available information (corporate records, news, social media) used to enrich and corroborate investigations.
Negative news / adverse media: Reports linking a subject to crime, sanctions, or corruption, reviewed during EDD and investigations.
Law enforcement liaison: Cooperation with authorities on requests, joint investigations, and feedback, while maintaining SAR confidentiality.
Production order / summons: A legal instrument compelling an institution to produce records relevant to an investigation.
Account freezing / seizure: Restraining funds pursuant to a court order, regulatory action, or sanctions designation pending investigation.
Asset forfeiture: The legal process by which authorities permanently confiscate proceeds and instruments of crime.
Transaction reconstruction: Rebuilding the flow of funds across accounts and entities to establish the source and movement of value.
Funds flow analysis: Tracing how money moved among parties and accounts to identify the origin, layering, and destination of funds.
Alert backlog management: Controlling the volume of unworked alerts so suspicious activity is reviewed within required timeframes.
Sanctions alert investigation: Reviewing a screening hit to confirm a true match, then blocking/rejecting and reporting to OFAC as required.
Politically exposed person hit review: Confirming whether a PEP screening alert is a true match and applying the appropriate enhanced measures.
Segregation of duties: Separating who detects, investigates, and approves SAR filings to reduce error and conflicts of interest.
Tuning feedback loop: Using SAR outcomes and investigation results to refine monitoring scenarios and thresholds over time.
Scenario coverage assessment: Mapping monitoring scenarios to the institution's risks to confirm all key typologies are detectable.
Data enrichment: Adding context (KYC, prior alerts, related parties) to an alert so investigators can decide efficiently.
Continuous transaction screening: Ongoing screening of customers and payments as lists and customer data change, not just at onboarding.
Sanctions list false-positive reduction: Using better matching logic, good-guy lists, and tuning to cut non-genuine hits without missing true matches.
Investigation documentation standard: Recording the evidence, analysis, and conclusion for every case so decisions are defensible and auditable.
Feedback to first line: Sharing investigation outcomes with frontline and onboarding teams to improve future detection and CDD.

To find us again, just search “Career Employer CAMS”

By Career EmployerUpdated Jun 19, 2026

250+ free CAMS flashcards — 4 ways to study

CAMS Flashcard of the Day

The classic card. Do you know this one?

Click Study Flashcards above to open the flashcard hub — 250+ CAMS cards you can flip, match, type, or quiz yourself on. Every card is drawn from the four ACAMS content areas, so you study exactly what the exam tests.^[1] Pair them with our free practice test and study guide.

CAMS Flashcard Study Modes

Most flashcard sites give you one thing: a card to flip. Ours has four modes so you can both learn the material and prove you actually know it — the difference between recognizing an answer and recalling it under pressure.^[3]

Flip (Study) — the classic card. Flip term ↔ definition, shuffle the deck, and mark each “Got it” or “Still learning.”
Match (Game) — a timed game: pair each term to its definition as fast as you can. Great for cementing typologies and acronyms.
Type (Recall) — read the definition and type the term. Typing forces true active recall instead of passive recognition.
Quiz (Test) — multiple-choice questions generated from the cards, so you can self-test exactly like exam day.

Free CAMS flashcards from Career Employer — active recall for all four ACAMS content areas

Why Flashcards Work for the CAMS Exam

Flashcards aren’t busywork — they’re built on active recall: pulling an answer out of memory strengthens it far more than re-reading notes.

Pair that with spacing — short sessions across several weeks rather than one cram — and you retain more in less time.^[3]

That matters for the CAMS exam, which is dense with acronyms (FATF, BSA, KYC, CDD, SAR, OFAC), typologies, and rules that reward repetition. Used alongside our practice test and study guide, flashcards turn review time into measurable progress.^[3]

CAMS Flashcards by Content Area

The cards are organized by the four ACAMS content areas. Weight your study toward the heaviest ones — compliance programs and the risks and methods of money laundering are the two heaviest:^[1]

CAMS flashcards by content area (2026)
CAMS content area	% of exam
AML, CFT & Sanctions Compliance Programs	~28%
Risks & Methods of Money Laundering & TF	~26%
Compliance Standards for AML & CFT	~25%
Conducting & Supporting the Investigation Process	~21%

How to Get the Most Out of These Flashcards

Start early, review daily. Begin flashcards as you cover each area, not the week before — a few minutes a day beats one marathon.^[3]
Use Type and Quiz, not just Flip. Recognizing the answer is easy; recalling and choosing it is the real test.
Drill your weakest area. Pick a single content-area deck and grind it until the Match time drops and the Quiz score climbs.
Study outside your specialty. The areas you don’t use daily are the score-movers.
Then prove it. When the cards feel easy, confirm with a full practice test.

CAMS Flashcards FAQ

Hundreds of free CAMS flashcards, organized across all four ACAMS content areas tested on the exam. They're free to use with no account required.

References

1.ACAMS. “CAMS — Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Certification.” ACAMS. ↑
2.Financial Action Task Force. “The FATF Recommendations.” FATF. ↑
3.Institute of Education Sciences (U.S. Dept. of Education). “Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning (Practice Guide).” What Works Clearinghouse, IES. ↑

Career Employer

Career Employer is the ultimate resource to help you get started working the job of your dreams. We cover topics from general career information, career searching, exam preparation with free study materials, career interviewing, and becoming successful in your career of choice.

All Posts

Career Employer’s Editorial Process

Here at Career Employer, we focus a lot on providing factually accurate information that is always up to date. We strive to provide correct information using strict editorial processes, article editing, and fact-checking for all of the information found on our website. We only utilize trustworthy and relevant resources. To find out more, make sure to read our full editorial process page here.