Fraud is big business. According to a 2020 survey by PwC, 56% of businesses surveyed reported incidents of fraud in the past 24 months, for a total of $6.5 billion in fraud losses. With fraud at record highs, it’s more important than ever for your business to remain vigilant in recognizing and preventing fraud. Here are three common types of business fraud and how you can help recognize and prevent them.
Business Email Compromise – Business email compromise occurs when a fraudster poses as a customer, business executive, or employee of a business and persuades someone within the business, or one of its partners, to send money or confidential data to the fraudster’s account. One way to prevent business email compromise is to verify in person or over the phone any transaction requested via email. But remember – call a known number or one listed on the business’s website – not one provided in the email.
Check Fraud – Check fraud, simply put, is when someone uses checks to commit fraud. This most commonly occurs in the form of forgery, counterfeit checks or altered checks. One of the best ways to prevent check fraud is to have internal processes and procedures to quickly identify this type of fraud. Review account transactions frequently to make sure there is no fraudulent activity and implement internal dual control so that no one individual has total control over internal financial transactions.
Payment Fraud – Business payment fraud includes wire fraud; business credit card fraud; and internal, ACH, and check fraud. As with check fraud, establishing strong dual control procedures and carefully and consistently monitoring account transaction activity can help businesses quickly identify and prevent payment fraud. Additionally, since much payment activity happens online, ensure that your business has strong cybersecurity measures in place.
Whether you’re a small business, big business, or somewhere in between, we take your financial security seriously and have resources and insights to help you protect yourself and your business.
Visit Regions.com for more information.
Protecting your business
The information presented is general in nature and should not be considered, legal, accounting or tax advice. Regions reminds its customers that they should be vigilant about fraud and security and that they are responsible for taking action to protect their computer systems. Fraud prevention requires a continuous review of your policies and practices, as the threat evolves daily. There is no guarantee that all fraudulent transactions will be prevented or that related financial losses will not occur. Visit regions.com/STOPFRAUD, or speak with your Banker for further information on how you can help prevent fraud.