ACAMS Bewertungen 

Is it a scam to loot candidates?
I passed my exam on 1st December 2023 , I received a mail from acams on 14march 2024 that my certificate has been suspended siting below resons:

"Specifically, your CAMS exam on
12/1/2023
surpassed our threshold for Extreme Similarity, which typically indicates the use of shared exam content, often from an exam dumps site, the use of which are prohibited for reasons
explained below.

ACAMS certification questions are the copyrighted intellectual property of ACAMS, and copying, reproducing, distributing, or sharing is strictly prohibited, as stated in the Test Taker Agreement you signed prior to taking the exam (See highlighted sections of the Test Taker Agreement, attached).



Furthermore, by signing the Test Taker Agreement, you represented that you had not received exam questions from others.

Lastly, the Test Taker Agreement informs you of potential penalties for failing to abide by the requirements including, but not limited to revocation of your certification
and ACAMS membership. "

I was in shock reading after reading the mail. All my a year of hardwork and huge exam fee is on stake because of their algorithm which states that I might have got all the acams questions from some source. I was amazed by this reason so I went online searching is it even possible to get real exam questions of Acams so easily? Prestigious exams like acams is giving reasons that I might have used real exam questions available somewhere ,God knows where, if it was this easy to get exam questions every body would have passed and would have saved their retake money. Acams has all the things designed in such a way where they can charge you for every thing be it rescheduling,retaking whatever.

Anyways ,they gave me two options, either to appeal or to retake with their minimum fee.
I formally appealed giving all the evidences of my preparation from last one year ,my notes, my short notes everything but I received a mail today that it has been denied and I need to retake the exam because their algorithm states of using outside exam materials to pass the exam.

I mean ,are they even for real? Can they give me proofs of having used other study materials? How can they dupe me of my hard earned money and what about my time invested and the trauma they are causing ? They need to understand that it's a lot of money and several months of time which has been invested despite being a full time professional. I want to challenge this, can someone guide me how to take it legally which doesn't involve cost.

I won't pay a single penny and any more time of mine on this useless certification which has no ethics.

This is my continuation of the story for the people who still consider whether it is worth applying for the membership and courses at this institution.

As soon as I submitted negative review on TrustPilot the representative contacted me via email through which initial discussion regarding the issue started.
The answer has been general (i.e., forwarded my issue) and after couple of days, on 13/02/2024, i receive, first, confirmation that i have been registered for re-take exam, then i receive second email with info that my case has been closed and only after that i receive again general message from representative (Paola S.) stating that:

- They assure me that their study materials cover and prepare for the Exam;
- They conduct regular quality checks of exams;
- Training materials provide the knowledge needed to prepare for the examination;
- In order to maintain the integrity of their exams and exam security, they cannot share copies of the exam.

And e-mail also stated that they also registered me for a re-take exam.

So my concerns haven't been taken into the account properly.

As a result i asked additional questions, such as:

- Why my case was closed without confirmation with me?

- I provided some evidence (screenshots from materials) confirming my statement that Study Guide has mistakes and misleading information; Also mentioned, as evidence, some examples from the provided Handbook (which states that Study Guide is main reference material and content source for preparing for the rigors of the examination) where there are examination themes/questions not covered in study guides and asking to specify pages to that questions if they assure that their study materials cover and prepare for the exam.

- Also asked whether they have some certification accreditation by third party or authority that would prove compliance with best practices and standards (at least ISO standards).

- And also again asked to get detailed information on the exam because every person willing to start the course agreed on Non-Disclosure obligation, so there should not be the problem.

- And also asked where are the guarantees that after accepting the re-take there will not be such issues again?

I am still waiting for the answer since 13/02/2024 and have been sending kind reminders several times, still no answer.
I also tried to call today on 21/02/2024 to their branch in Paris during their working time and i received answer from answerphone that the "The offices are closed and please try to call normal working time from Monday to Friday from 9 AM till 5 PM.".

All facts (ignoring the claims, closed offices, no-refund policy, non-compliance between their statements and study materials, possible absence of any kind of accreditation (like CPD or ISO) of their courses by third parties or respective authorities) indicates, from my point of view, unfair, deceptive, fraudulent and unethical business practice.

I also wrote about that kind of negative business practice to one of the COO, hope that this will help.

Considering to write report/claim to respective Bureau of Consumer Protection.

Will be updating on the results.

Their Support ignored 5 of my consecutive support requests.

I paid over 3500 USD in fees for a conference, membership, recertification, and a live workshop after the conference.

Having paid so much money, I am still not able to watch Recorded Webinars from their library - it keeps asking me to pay 345 USD for a 1-year membership, which I paid 2 months ago.

Make no mistake - they are deliberetly ignoring my support tickets and close them immediately after opening without providing ANY reply.

Today I will send the 6th support request in a row hoping for them to respond and solve the issue, so I can study.

Hi There , I took up ACAMS exams after getting training from an institute instructor and he said he prepares questions his input is taken into consideration when preparing exams questions.. Just to be clear I appeared for exams with the material provided by institutions and also studied from ACAMS online registration portal after submitting fees unfortunately the questionnaire that appeared in exams was so u relevant to what I studied from the materials and ACAMS online platform .. they were all advanced level questions when I was appearing for initial basic start of ACAMS .. if they make it this difficult then no one will have the courage to retake the ACAMS exams ever .. we know and have understood how ACAMS works by studying materials and nothing comes in your exams what you actually prepared for .. very sad but true .. and I can't afford to pay again Somuch to re apply same fees for retaking the exams .. please advise if there has been a change in anything .. I request ACAMS to please advise and consider my requests and recheck the questions that was provided to me on my exam day

The clue is in the name, just get the S to the start. You need to pay hundreds of £s to keep your certification "valid" - imagine losing your degree if you didn't pay a few hundred every year. The training materials are nice, mostly your basic stuff that would be covered by any bank, but the exam is awful. Poorly worded questions designed to trip you up and bad grammar. The questions are also not those covered in any practice simulations. Also had one about red flags where all the answers were red flags and I had to choose two (7+ years experience). Its a joke but nobody will say it, I passed it, not paying for renewal though. Just a tick box on the CV.

To start with:
I had a difficult and very stress full experience with Acams website and the test entity.
I recommend you to do read the policy and term and condition fully, so you know where you stand with exams, and all terms.
Initially I have ask for time to study, and the Acams only give me few extra month, turned out not sufficient time.
I did also have a bad experience during the Exam take, I got interrupted twice. I did FAILED the first attempt, the exam conditions were stress full not friendly.

However, Acams did call me and now they give me an extenuation for me to retake the exam. Thanks

Now I will study and maybe pass the exam, I least I get more time.
Anyway I am with studying with IAPP for Data Protection and they give you unlimited time study, 0 stress.

I took the entry level course from ACAMS and attempted to take the exam a few months ago. I was surprised that most of the questions covered were not on any of the study materials provided. When I contacted customer service they insisted that everything was provided and to try again. Second attempt had the same issue. Not only did they have material not covered, but they worded questions to trick/decieve the test taker instead of testing them on the knoweldge of the material. I ended up wasting over six months of my life on this but don't worry, ACAMS got their $2000 plus in fees, courses, exams retakes and will continue to hustle money out of people in the industry. Heed others warnings about this company and stay far away.

I wrote the ACAMS CGSS and while on the last question, my computer completely shut down so I couldnt get back into my test to submit it. I contacted Pearson and ACAMS customer service. I was helped by Manuella at ACAMS and also Roselyn. They escalated my requested to Pearson to release my test so I could know if I passed or failed. Due to their follow up, my results were released and I am pleased to say I passed the exam.

It was such a stressful experience but they assured me they were doing the best they can to ensure my test results were released. Thanks again ACAMS team !

My wife took this test twice, the first time getting a 61, but then the second time, at the end of the test, the results stated she got 75 right (the passing grade) but that she failed??? This is definitely a scam and we will be reporting ACAMs to the Better Business Bureau as this is fraud.

The attitude of ACAMS towards its members is such a shame. I'm deeply dissatisfied that having paid a significant amount for the most expensive course, having spent hundreds of hours learning and having successfully passed the CAMS exam in 2018, I am currently not considered a graduate on the list on the website (despite the fact that I formally graduated) because I decided not to waste money on annual membership. It's the same as graduating from Harvard and being disqualified for not paying for its alumni Sunday club.

ACAMS test is the scam itself. I had to pay for over $2,000 initially just to sign up for materials (edition 6) eventhough I have edition 5 study book already. After studied for 3 month and took the test, I got 72 score (75 is the passing score). Paid another $320 for exam retake, I got 71 on the second exam. However it was the completely different exam with different questions and different topic. I called ACAMS and they told me there's nothing I can do except taking the exam again. I took the exam for the third time with $320 paid to ACAMS and got 73 after studied for six month. Got another completely different exam with different questions and different topic that I have never seen. When I called the customer service, they said I can't take the questions that I got wrong nor can I take the same exam with same question. I got to take the exam again and pay them another $320. Why would I take the same 6th edition exam over and over again with completely different questions? ACAMS just wants to get your money and let you fail the exam over and over again! They are extremely rude during the exam when asking for bathroom break also. They will terminate the exam if you asked again.t to pay another $320 to take it aga.

Thanks to Trustpilot, I managed to avoid certification.

I done my 5 certifications from ACAMS.. recently I applying for in 15 to 20 companies everyone acams certifications not worth it.. very bad experience… waste of money

Expensive training means valuable content and reactive customer service. That's definetely not the case with Acams. Example: You purchase a training with short timeframe to finish, you encounter an error on the website ->no one will answer your email before a minimum of 5-6 days. This generate frustration and anger. I had to solve the issue by myself.

Their APAC service team is horrible. I sent them an email to apply Singapore AML Regime exam and they took their time reply me with official answer and completed the case. My request was not answered at all! They don't bother to see my request but just reply like a machine and close my case. I emailed them again and again and no reply at all! I have to email with a new post and generate a new case before they bother to answer me. What a smart way of doing things in this well-known organization! Btw, I got the CAMS certificate and they spelled my name all in small letter. They don't even know how to spell a person's name and they are teaching you anti-money laundering. What a joke.

More SCAMS than ACAMS

Very low level courses offered at the beginners level, you literally can have all this info for 15x cheaper with other online course providers. Way too low quality of materials for the price. The most disturbing part is unlike with other online course providers you don't have access to your course that you paid USD 700,- for after your membership expires, literally no other platform I used is so greedy, all courses that I paid for are available at any time. Customer service is absent, You dont pay for knowledge but for the brand name, hope more people will shift away.

If you enquire about a course at ACAMS, you're being bombarded with marketing calls, so-called account managers who are going to help you throughout your journey etc. I paid almost £1500 for the CAMS exam and the membership. Immediately after making the payment, my account manager Tom Frenzel disappeared! No replies to my emails or to phone calls. I emailed two account managers, I emailed the certification department, the Europe team. No response from anyone. Whilst studying for the exam, I realised that the study materials were outdated, full of spelling mistakes and with wrong answers to practice questions. The course is hideously overpriced for what it offers. They charge over £1000 for 294 pages that are of poor quality, not up to standards. I regret having signed up to this course!

Customer service is non-existent. I reached out several times to ACAMS about the CTMA certification but without a response. However, after reading the other reviews, I'm happy that I didn't book the course!

Unbelievable.

I introduced my boss to ACAMS having done mine certification with them. However after paying a 1 thousand plus for membership and 2 online course. No information was sent. No course material or log in to go ahead with the course. Their customer service is so horrible, you stay on the line for almost 30mins and get cut off, no one bothers to call you. I used to think ACAMS was quite respected in this field but it appears the new website and change in logo just made everything worse. after 3 weeks, I am yet to know how to go ahead with the course or refund...no one is calling or emailing back. At least i should be able to get a refund and register with ICA. Pheeewwww

I struggled to pay very expensive fees as the platform to process the payment did not work.
Then, I became a member yeay! But big surprise the course consists in a 311 p pdf, with poor formatting, no dates, we do not know when it was made...
Then they promised online virtual courses, but I received not link to the course, which I paid for. I have been reaching out to their customer service (outsourced with limited budget probably FOR 1 HOUR, with annoying robotic waiting message. TO AVOID !!!!!!! I think ACAMS is actay ASCAM! I will seek a refund immediality.