In the United States, under the Bank Secrecy Act (1970) (BSA) and later amended by the U.S. PATRIOT Act, a suspicious activity report (SAR) is a document filed confidentially by banks and other financial institutions to alert law enforcement (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, for example) of potentially illegal transactions. In other countries, SARs may be referred to as suspicious transaction reports (STRs). Regardless, they act as similar mechanisms for financial institutions and other regulated entities.