Is Your Business at Risk of Check Fraud? 10 Warning Signs
We continue to see mail fraud impacting businesses. In many cases, fraud begins when a business mails a check to a vendor or payee and that check is intercepted. Once in the wrong hands, the check may be altered by changing the payee name, the amount, or both. Fraudsters often count on busy business owners reviewing only the dollar amount clearing the account and not noticing that the check information has been changed until it is too late. Unfortunately, a single intercepted check can give criminals enough information to create or order additional checks and attempt further fraudulent activity.
Consider whether any of the following apply to your business:
- Do you complete large jobs or projects out of town?
- Do you maintain accounts that hold funds for others, such as IOLTA or IRETA accounts?
- Is one non-owner employee responsible for issuing checks or approving payments?
- Do you receive robocalls, suspicious phone calls, phishing emails, or unusual payment requests?
- Do you pay vendors online or by email request?
- Do multiple employees use the same online banking credentials?
- Do you use an outdoor or stand-alone mailbox for outgoing or incoming business mail?
- Do you opt out of two-factor authentication when it is available?
- Do employees access business systems from laptops while traveling or working in public places, such as airports?
- Do you send wires frequently?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, your business may be more exposed to fraud than you realize.
How Positive Pay helps prevent check fraud
The days of relying on a single employee or trusting every invoice, payment request, or mailed check at face value are behind us. Businesses need layered safeguards that help verify payments before money leaves the account. Positive Pay is one financial tool that can help by comparing checks presented for payment against the check information your business has authorized. If the check information does not match, funds can easily be recouped and the item marked as unauthorized, keeping your business funds secure.
Alden Mechanical experienced this firsthand when Positive Pay quickly detected and stopped a fraudulent check, saving the company more than $10,000.
Explore fraud prevention tools through Cash Management services
The best way to protect your hard-earned money is to combine strong internal procedures with financial tools such as Positive Pay, ACH Origination Services, account monitoring, and two-factor authentication whenever available. Baker Boyer’s Business and Cash Management teams are here to help your business succeed and protect the legacy you are building. Contact us to learn more about Cash Management Services designed to help reduce your risk of becoming a victim of fraud.
