If you have not yet experienced fraudulent attempts to pilfer your money, the operative word is “yet”. Recent months have seen a sharp increase in fraud cases – primarily involving fraudsters pretending to be bank employees in disguise.
Whether you are new to the war against fraud or a battle-scarred veteran, the key to survival is diligent vigilance. Let’s look at the current battlefield.
What can you do when a fraudster in disguise pretends to represent your bank?
Tip on protecting your assets:
- Use official channels to communicate, by going directly to the website or application.
- Hang up and call the bank directly.
- Do not respond with personal or sensitive information.
- Update PIN and passwords regularly.
- Do not click on unsolicited emails or text messages.
How to protect against check fraud.
Although check fraud has existed for years, occurrences have recently skyrocketed. Despite the above commentary, electronic payments still offer greater protection and leverage to fight back than checks. The opportunities for fraudulent check interception and manipulation are myriad. Rather than cataloging check fraud techniques, let’s look at the best across-the-board defense available.
Positive Pay is a low cost, easy to use solution we provide. It matches checks you’ve issued to checks being presented against your account. If you’re currently using an A/P system, you can easily upload a check file after you process your check run. If you don’t use an A/P system or need to enter a “one-off” check, you can easily input single checks into the system. We compare incoming checks to your list by matching check number, amount, and payee. Then we provide you an electronic list of any exceptions, potentially saving you thousands of dollars. It also verifies and halts unauthorized ACH transactions.
Fraudsters are committed to their art.
Texas Security Bank is equally experienced, committed and armed to defend against fraudulent attacks. We provide market-leading tools in our never-ending battle against fraud. If you fall victim to fraud, our team of fraud specialists will fight tirelessly to get your money back. Join us in this battle! Train your employees in the art of “Diligent Vigilance” and consider using the fraud fighting tools we provide like Positive Pay.
Together, we can win the war against fraud.
Shon Cass
EVP, Integrated Sales & Service