Skip to Main Content
Doing More Today
  • News
  • Community
    • Associates in Action
    • Community Engagement
    • Small Business
    • Economic Development
  • Insights & Innovation
    • Economic Commentary
    • Insights
    • Innovation
  • Financial Wellness
    • Financial Wellness
    • Fraud Prevention
  • See the Good
    • Culture
    • Good Company
    • Good Towns
    • Good Pets
    • Ecards
    • Recipes
    • Riding Forward
Subscribe Now
Regions Bank

Regions Bank: Doing More Today: Good stories. Better insights. More possibilities.

Share
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share via Email
Subscribe
Five Top Scams illustration
Category: Fraud Prevention

Top 5 Fraud Predictions for 2024

Scammers like to repackage tried-and-true schemes with new twists to attack the innocent.

By Jeff Taylor | January 16, 2024

It’s that time of year again.

Everyone with expertise, or even an opinion, publishes what they believe to be the top fraud attack vectors to watch out for. Year after year, the descriptions and nuances change slightly, but many of the attack vectors look much the same as in years past. Often, it’s just the fraudsters repackaging an old scheme with a new bow.

Whether you are a commercial business or a consumer, fraudsters are looking for ways to penetrate your defenses and find a pathway to steal your money or data.

Here are my top 5 for 2024:

Business Email Compromise icon

Year after year fraudsters successfully use variations of this attack method. Whether it’s the executive, vendor or employee impersonation, the use of email communications to request the creation of a payment or a change in an existing payment is still working. It is extremely important that you and your employees maintain a cautious approach when acting on requests received via email. The use of artificial intelligence and large language models will make these emails even more difficult to detect.

Many businesses have successfully implemented a call back control within their process to identify threats and stop these unauthorized requests. We call it STOP-CALL-CONFIRM. If you receive a request via email or text to originate a payment or change an existing payment, STOP your process, pick up the phone and CALL the requestor at a number you know (not the number in the email or text), and CONFIRM the request is legitimate. It’s a simple way to verify these requests and avoid becoming a victim.

Stop Call Confirm graphic

Check Fraud icon

The alteration of issued checks and the creation of counterfeit checks has become a plague on both businesses and consumers. Stopping this attack vector has become extremely difficult. Checks innocently placed in the mail have been intercepted in transit, altered and negotiated into accounts controlled by fraudsters. Fraudsters use dark web and other communications channels to train other criminals on how to steal, wash and deposit these payments.

Avoiding writing checks is the most simple and effective way to thwart this attack. For consumers, using your bill pay platform or paying by credit card may help. For businesses, utilizing services like Positive Pay with Payee Name Verification can assist in identifying altered checks, and converting your payments to a digital alternative may also help, but it is important to implement proper payment controls like dual control and least privilege access.

Ransomware icon

Companies, municipalities, school systems, hospitals and critical infrastructure providers continue to be targets, and news feeds are full of reports of organizations that have experienced a ransomware event. Many of the attacks are less about the ransom demand and payment, and more about the acquisition of sensitive data.

Continually educate your employees on the importance of caution and diligence around protecting your network. Avoid email attachments from unknown senders, accessing suspicious websites, and create processes to protect your network from unauthorized device access.

Trusted Partner Impersonation icon

This one will continue to be utilized by fraudsters to attempt to obtain private information like login credentials, passwords and other sensitive information. Fraudsters spoof the phone number of a trusted partner like your bank, investment advisor or credit card company and have just enough information to seem legitimate. They can create look-alike websites. There is another possibility, for the use of artificial intelligence, to create deep fake audio that will sound even more convincing. They may ask you about a transaction on your account and offer assistance in removing the transaction – if you will provide your user ID and password to them. DON’T DO IT!

Your best defense is to hang up the phone and either log into your account and dispute the transaction yourself or contact the partner at a number you know to report the issue and ask for help. A great deal of the background information used by the fraudsters to perpetrate this scheme is obtained through social engineering. Be cautious about the information you post to your social media accounts and, when possible, utilize biometric authentication protocols, dual control and multi-factor authentication.

Scams, Scams and More Scams! icon

Fraudsters continue to find creative ways to convince us to provide sensitive information, make payments or otherwise take advantage of our good nature. Some include posing as a family member in trouble, fictitious charities, tech support problems, offers of prize winnings and an unheard-of lowest price on a hard-to-find product.

It pays to be suspicious and cautious before acting. A good rule of thumb is always verify, and if it seems too good to be true it probably is.

Education and awareness continue to be at the forefront of avoiding each of these situations. The more you educate yourself and your staff on how to identify potential fraud attacks, the greater your likelihood of avoiding becoming a victim.

 

Related Articles From Doing More Today

  • Social Media Scams: 6 Common Schemes
  • Voice Search Scams: 4 Ways to Stay Safe
  • Bad Love: 5 Signs of Romance Scams
  • 8 Steps to Protect Yourself from Imposter Scams

 

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.

Share
Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share on LinkedIn
Share via Email
Subscribe

Trending Articles

  • 1.

    Angela Santone Joins Regions Bank as Chief People Officer

  • 2.

    Regions Recognized for Excellence in Mortgage Servicing

  • 3.

    Service and Support: Regions Bank Launches Disaster-Recovery Options for Consumers, Businesses

  • 4.

    Kay Goke: Using Her Many Talents to Serve Others

  • 5.

    Regions Bank Named 2025 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award Winner

Related Articles

Category: Fraud Prevention

#BanksNeverAskThat – And Neither Does Regions

Incoming cell phone call from a bank and alert icon.
Category: Community Engagement

School Spirit

Jenise Wright and icons depicting aspects of education and teaching.
Category: Community Engagement

Earth Week Spring Cleaning

Groups of Regions associates next to canoes and topsoil and...
Illustration of a thief mask with caution symbol and the...
Category: Fraud Prevention

FBI Warns of Impersonation Scams

Emily Dugas, Regions banker receiving her first handwritten note of...
Category: Culture

Celebrating Frontline Branch Heroes

Jeff Taylor, Regions Bank’s head of Commercial Fraud Forensics, met...
Category: Fraud Prevention

Extra Credit: 4 Fraud Truths to Remember

Entrance to the Regions Tradition. A large sign in the...
Category: Culture

Regions Tradition 2025: Extra Impact

Regions.com | About Regions | Investor Relations | Privacy & Security | Website Terms of Use | Contact Regions | Careers at Regions
© 2025 Regions Bank Member FDIC |
All Rights Reserved | Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender | Online Privacy