According to the Association for Financial Professionals’ latest Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 79% of businesses have experienced a fraud attempt in the past year. Whether it is check fraud, business email compromise, gateway exploits, or even newer forms of fraud through deepfakes and voice cloning, businesses must remain vigilant to protect their finances.
But how can businesses fortify their fraud prevention plan? One word: education. Most businesses today have access to fraud mitigation tools and engage in conversations with their bank about the latest measure. Oftentimes, however, fraud mitigation tools are only as effective as the knowledge of those implementing them. For businesses to truly be able to safeguard financial resources in today’s ever-evolving fraud environment, there are two key aspects of fraud education that they must take into account.
Learning about, not just selecting, the right fraud mitigation tools
The market for fraud mitigation tools has never been more extensive, covering almost all forms of money movement. Businesses can turn to their banks and other providers to implement solutions such as Positive Pay, check block, ACH Positive Pay, and account validation, to name a few.
The important thing for businesses to remember is that selecting a solution and implementing it is only part of the equation. It is crucial that businesses engage in regular conversations with their banks and other fraud prevention solution providers to truly understand how a fraud solution works, especially as fraudsters continue to evolve their tactics for exploiting vulnerabilities.
Having regular conversations with their bank can help businesses stay up to date on the latest techniques fraudsters are using and identify potential vulnerabilities. These educational conversations can help ensure that the fraud mitigation tools a business has in place are being employed correctly to address vulnerabilities. If the conversation exposes any unmitigated gaps, businesses can then work with their bank to focus on any additional measures they may need to put in place to effectively protect themselves.
Educating the masses, not just the users
The second key element of effective education when it comes to fraud prevention is ensuring that everyone is in the know, not just those who monitor your anti-fraud solutions. At Synovus, we have noticed that, as often as fraud can happen through methods like check fraud or other more technical methods, employees are equally vulnerable to being a potential weak point.
Especially in the era of deepfakes and voice cloning, fraudsters are increasingly targeting businesses through employees by attempting to get them to share key system credentials that will allow fraudsters to access business finances on the back end. While those on the front lines of implementing fraud prevention solutions are the ones who need to be the most educated on the fraud landscape, it is crucial that fraud prevention resources from partners like banks or other solutions providers are made available, if not mandatory, for all employees.
In an era of rapid innovation, the most effective fraud prevention tool that businesses can employ is simple: education. Ensuring that decision-makers involved in fraud prevention work with their banks to remain educated about the safeguards they are employing and how those match up with today’s fraud tactics can help identify and address systemic vulnerabilities. Separately, ensuring that all employees have access to, or are required to review, fraud prevention education materials from the organization’s bank can help to mitigate the risk of human error exposing a business to fraud.
Fraud is not going away. It’s not a matter of “if” it is going to happen, it’s a matter of “when” it’s going to happen. In fact, the tactics that fraudsters are employing are only becoming more complex. And while no single fraud prevention plan is perfect, a well-rounded approach to fraud prevention education can take any strategy to the next level.
Katherine Weislogel is Head of Treasury & Payment Solutions at Synovus Bank.
