ACAMS CAMS Practice Test

Start with the public CAMS sample questions, then continue in Finance Prep with the live CAMS practice route for AML risk, customer due diligence, suspicious activity, sanctions, investigations, compliance controls, and governance scenarios.

Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) preparation rewards candidates who can connect risk indicators, customer due diligence, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, investigation steps, and escalation discipline.

CAMS exam snapshot

What CAMS practice should test

• recognizing AML, terrorist financing, sanctions, fraud, and corruption indicators
• connecting customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence to risk
• choosing investigation and escalation steps without overreacting or ignoring evidence
• understanding compliance program controls, governance, training, monitoring, and audit

Sample Exam Questions

Try these 12 original CAMS sample questions before opening the live Finance Prep route. They are not official ACAMS questions and do not reproduce a live exam.

Question 1

Topic: Customer risk

A private company opens an account with complex ownership, nominee directors, and unexplained payments from unrelated overseas entities. What is the strongest first AML concern?

• A. The company is automatically prohibited from banking services
• B. The structure may obscure beneficial ownership and require enhanced due diligence
• C. The payments are acceptable because companies often receive foreign transfers
• D. The account is low risk because it is not held by an individual

Best answer: B

Explanation: Complex ownership and unexplained third-party payments can hide beneficial ownership or source of funds. The right response is risk-based enhanced due diligence, not automatic rejection or passive acceptance.

Question 2

Topic: Suspicious activity

A customer makes repeated cash deposits just below an internal review threshold at multiple branches, then wires funds offshore. What is the strongest AML interpretation?

• A. The pattern may indicate structuring and should be reviewed
• B. The customer avoided the threshold, so no review is needed
• C. The offshore wire proves the funds are legitimate
• D. The branch should ignore deposits made at other locations

Best answer: A

Explanation: Repeated transactions below a threshold can be a structuring red flag. AML controls should look at the pattern across branches and products, not just one isolated transaction.

Question 3

Topic: Sanctions screening

A sanctions screening alert appears to match a customer name, but date of birth and address do not match. What should the analyst do?

• A. Treat the alert as a confirmed match without review
• B. Dismiss the alert because names are often common
• C. Review available identifiers and document the basis for clearing or escalating the alert
• D. Ask the customer whether they are sanctioned and close the alert if they deny it

Best answer: C

Explanation: Sanctions alerts require documented disposition. A weak match can be cleared when identifiers support that decision, but the analyst should not clear or confirm based on name alone.

Question 4

Topic: Enhanced due diligence

Which situation most clearly supports enhanced due diligence?

• A. A long-time retail customer updates a phone number
• B. A customer receives payroll from a domestic employer
• C. A customer uses online banking for bill payments
• D. A customer is linked to a high-risk jurisdiction, opaque ownership, and unusual transaction flow

Best answer: D

Explanation: Enhanced due diligence is risk-based. High-risk geography, ownership opacity, and unusual transactions create a stronger case for deeper review than routine profile changes.

Question 5

Topic: Investigation workflow

An investigator sees unusual activity but cannot yet determine whether it is suspicious. What is the best next step?

• A. Close the review because uncertainty means no suspicion exists
• B. File every uncertain case immediately without analysis
• C. Gather relevant customer, transaction, and expected-activity information before deciding whether to escalate
• D. Tell front-line staff to warn the customer

Best answer: C

Explanation: Investigations should collect enough relevant evidence to support a reasoned decision. Warning the customer can create tipping-off risk, and uncertainty should be resolved through documented review.

Question 6

Topic: AML compliance program

Which control is most central to an effective AML program?

• A. A risk assessment that informs policies, monitoring, training, and independent review
• B. A marketing plan for new accounts
• C. A policy saying all customers have the same risk
• D. A rule that only cash transactions matter

Best answer: A

Explanation: AML programs should be risk-based. The risk assessment should connect to controls, monitoring, training, reporting, testing, and governance.

Question 7

Topic: Politically exposed persons

A prospective customer is a senior foreign public official with substantial expected international activity. What is the best compliance response?

• A. Treat the customer as low risk because public officials are easy to identify
• B. Apply risk-based review that considers source of wealth, source of funds, expected activity, and approvals
• C. Open the account without review if the customer is wealthy
• D. Reject the customer automatically in every case

Best answer: B

Explanation: Politically exposed person risk is managed through risk-based due diligence and approval processes. The issue is not automatic rejection; it is whether the institution understands and controls the risk.

Question 8

Topic: Correspondent banking

Why can correspondent banking relationships create elevated AML risk?

• A. They are unrelated to cross-border payments
• B. They always involve only low-risk domestic customers
• C. They eliminate the need for sanctions screening
• D. The respondent institution may process activity for customers the correspondent does not directly know

Best answer: D

Explanation: Correspondent banking can expose an institution to nested or indirect customer activity. Due diligence should assess the respondent institution, controls, geography, ownership, and expected activity.

Question 9

Topic: Red flags

A newly formed charity receives large donations from unrelated sources and immediately wires most funds to a high-risk region with limited program documentation. What is the main AML concern?

• A. Charities can never receive donations
• B. The activity may require review for possible terrorist financing or misuse of nonprofit structures
• C. The wires prove the charity is legitimate
• D. Nonprofit accounts are outside AML monitoring

Best answer: B

Explanation: Nonprofit structures can be misused. The combination of new formation, large unrelated inflows, rapid outbound wires, and weak documentation supports closer review.

Question 10

Topic: Tipping-off risk

Front-line staff ask whether they should tell a customer that a suspicious activity report may be filed. What is the best guidance?

• A. Do not disclose the possible report or investigation to the customer
• B. Tell the customer to avoid future alerts
• C. Share the report draft if the customer requests it
• D. Ask the customer to approve the wording

Best answer: A

Explanation: AML reporting and investigations can create tipping-off concerns. Staff should follow internal escalation procedures and avoid disclosing sensitive review or reporting activity.

Question 11

Topic: Independent testing

What is the purpose of independent AML testing or audit?

• A. To replace daily transaction monitoring
• B. To evaluate whether AML controls are designed and operating effectively
• C. To guarantee no suspicious activity exists
• D. To approve every customer onboarding decision

Best answer: B

Explanation: Independent testing evaluates the AML program, identifies control gaps, and supports governance. It does not replace operational monitoring or guarantee perfect prevention.

Question 12

Topic: Source of funds

A customer cannot explain the origin of funds used for a large transaction and gives inconsistent answers over several calls. What should the institution do?

• A. Accept the transaction because the customer is existing
• B. Ignore inconsistencies if the customer is polite
• C. Review the activity, document the inconsistencies, and escalate if suspicion remains
• D. Ask the customer to split the transaction into smaller amounts

Best answer: C

Explanation: Unexplained source of funds and inconsistent explanations are meaningful risk indicators. The institution should document, review, and escalate according to policy.

Related Finance Prep pages

• CISI Combating Financial Crime
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