by Vince Liuzzi
Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer, DNB First

Strategic. Financial. Competitive. Regulatory. The business landscape has always been laden with different types of risk. And today with the explosive growth in cyber theft, business owners are faced with significant fraud risks, including a serious and growing one that’s cost businesses of all sizes tens of thousands of dollars: corporate account takeovers. A corporate account takeover occurs when cyber thieves gain access to your online banking accounts to initiate wires and other fraudulent transactions out of your accounts.

Beware of phishing and other scams

To carry out their work, thieves will often target your employees to gain access to your company’s online banking platform. They may utilize phishing scams,

where they pose as credible organizations, such as your bank or the Better Business Bureau, to attempt to access your company’s online banking credentials. Employees may then inadvertently download malware, allowing cyber thieves to take control of their computers and access sensitive information. Thieves may also attempt to reach your staff by phone or through social media to get personal information.

Reducing your company’s risk

It’s important to be aware that cyber thieves will target any size business. So whether you have 2 or 200 employees, your business could be at risk of a corporate account takeover if you make electronic transactions. There are, however, some steps you can take to protect your company and the money you’ve worked so hard to earn:

• Warn your employees. Share with them some of the tactics cyber thieves use and encourage them not to download or click on any suspicious emails or links.
• Monitor your accounts regularly for suspicious activity and transactions.
• Divide online banking tasks among employees and computers.
• Look for suspicious emails and install SPAM filters.
• Install anti-virus software and keep it up to date.
• Don’t click on links from unknown virus protection software programs.
• Instruct employees to regularly change passwords. Passwords should be mixed with letters and numbers and be difficult for others to ascertain.
• Log out after each online banking session and never leave computers unattended.
• Ensure employees do not access online banking from public places with public Internet access.
• Look for changes in the performance of your computer. If you notice a dramatic change in your computer’s processing speed or your computer frequently freezes, run a scan immediately.

At DNB First, we are committed to making your Online Banking experience as secure as possible. By increasing your knowledge and awareness of corporate account takeovers and other online scams, you’ll have one less risk to worry about, giving you more time to manage all those others.

Related links:

http://www.aba.com/Tools/Function/fraud/pages/corporateaccounttakeoversmallbusiness.aspx