Fortify Your Strategy with Fraud Prevention Tools

Published on June 5, 2020 |

Treasury management strategy is a vital piece of any business, including not only online banking, but choosing the best collection and disbursement services and reporting options for you. The right banking partner will provide you with the asset control you need, the convenience that you want, and, most importantly, the fraud prevention tools that are essential to safeguarding your financial assets.

While Treasury Management has always involved simple fraud protection measures—like manually confirming check numbers and amounts—it has evolved to encompass a wide range of tools and practices that will allow you to not only manage your financial assets but also protect them from fraud, both offline and online.

“Electronic payment systems are definitely safer than paper checks, but fraudsters can find ways to commit fraud via electronic means, too,” says Greg Williams, Senior Product Director and Head of Payables at Webster Bank. “It’s important to focus on how to mitigate the risk of fraud by any means, including electronic.” Consider these fraud prevention tools and practices as you seek to protect your financial assets.

Detect problems early: Discover fraudulent or altered checks before they are paid using services like positive pay—in which your company provides a list of approved checks to the bank, and only those checks are paid—or reverse positive pay—in which the banks provides a list of checks to your company to approve prior to paying those checks.

Plan ahead: Consider a tool like controlled disbursement, which will allow you to review your pending expenses daily and distribute funds to the appropriate accounts accordingly. Not only will this allow you to better manage cash flow, it will also ensure you’re able to approve the distribution of your assets.

Enhance the approval process: Fraudsters today not only target your accounts—they may target your employees as well. One easy practice to implement is requiring dual approval for financial transactions, limiting the likelihood of a hacker obtaining the information needed to access your assets.

Understand the techniques: Fraud is no longer merely committed by hackers or individuals who find ways to create falsified checks. A common, newer technique involves social engineering, which involves manipulating your employees into releasing funds or disclosing information. Ensure that your employees, and you, understand the ways this can be done and establish best practices that you can refer to regularly to ensure that you are protecting your information and assets.

Learn more about the fraud prevention tools and products available to protect your financial assets.