There is no way to deny that electronic and check fraud has become a huge issue for businesses. According to the 2018 Experian Global Fraud and Identity Report, over 65% of Businesses have experienced some form of fraudulent financial activity and U.S. Businesses will lose an average of 5% of their gross revenues to fraud. With losses from fraud reaching well into the billions, fraud control is a major concern for businesses everywhere. Additionally, businesses are not afforded the same protections as consumers against fraud. The time permitted to a business to recapture stolen funds via a fraudulent check or ACH is less than 48 hours.
There are several precautions that you can and should take to decrease the risk of unauthorized transactions from your bank accounts.
- Review your account statements promptly and thoroughly, and consider electronic imaged statements as opposed to mailed statements for security and expediency reasons.
- Monitor your daily banking activities utilizing your bank Online Banking system.
- Call your bank immediately if you suspect any problem with your account or unauthorized activity.
- Talk to your bank about setting up Positive Pay, a service that allows a business to monitor their deposit account daily for discrepancies and ensure that funds are not released without prior customer approval.
- Safeguard materials and information that can be used to access your account, this includes your checks, bank statements, personal identification numbers (PINs), and passwords.
- Use of a dedicated computer for your online banking
- Use strong and unique passwords for any online application, logging out at the end of each session.
- Email safely, be wary of sending any sensitive information such as account numbers or other personal information through email.
- Discuss with your bank if they offer deposit Account Alerts
There is no better time to put safeguards in place in your banking practices. The best advice for protecting your business against fraud is to be proactive rather than reactive.
