First Bank investigator Denese Harmon highlights rising financial crime risks

Denese Harmon, an assistant vice president and financial crimes investigator at First Bank in Troy, North Carolina, is being featured for her work in anti-money laundering, fraud prevention and compliance. Her profile underscores how AI, payment platforms and complex transaction networks are changing the fight against financial crime. Why it matters: - Denese Harmon’s work sits at the center of how banks detect fraud, stop money laundering and reduce harm to customers. - The risks are growing as criminals use artificial intelligence and payment platforms to move faster and hide transactions. - Financial crime investigations now affect not only institutions, but also victims of trafficking, elder exploitation and other illicit activity. What happened: - Influential Women is showcasing Denese Harmon, CAMS, an assistant vice president and financial crimes investigator at First Bank (FBNC) in Troy, North Carolina. - Harmon has more than 15 years of experience in anti-money laundering, fraud prevention and financial crime investigations. - Her profile highlights work spanning transaction monitoring, Bank Secrecy Act compliance and regulatory risk management. - Her early career began in a local bank fraud department, where she handled debit card and ATM fraud. - Her responsibilities later expanded to include check fraud and e-commerce-related cases. The details: - Harmon now analyzes large volumes of financial data to identify suspicious activity tied to terrorist financing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, tax evasion and elder financial exploitation. - Harmon holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist credential. - She works with law enforcement and government agencies on active investigations. - She also mentors emerging professionals and shares insight on evolving financial crime trends and risks. - Her career path moved from fraud detection into anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance. - She describes the most rewarding part of the work as finding subtle patterns inside thousands of transactions. - A link to her profile is available here . Between the lines: - Harmon’s story reflects a broader shift in financial crime work toward data-heavy investigations that blend analytics, psychology and legal judgment. - The rise of AI is creating a dual effect: stronger detection tools for banks and more scalable fraud tools for criminals. - Third-party payment platforms are making transaction tracing harder by obscuring money flows. - The feature also positions mentoring and public-facing leadership as part of the modern compliance role, not just back-office monitoring. What’s next: - Harmon expects financial crime teams to keep adapting as criminal tactics evolve. - Banks will likely face more pressure to pair technology with human investigation skills. - Her profile points to continued emphasis on training the next generation of compliance and fraud professionals. The bottom line: - Financial crime investigation is becoming more complex, and experienced compliance leaders like Harmon are increasingly important to institutional security and community protection.