Fraud Awareness

The Association for Financial Professionals notes that “81% of organizations were targets of payments fraud in 2019. This is the second highest percentage of reported fraud attacks/attempts since 2009 …”

Combating fraud is, understandably, one of the top priorities for large and small business alike—no matter the industry—and it is for Associated Bank as well.

With increasing levels of sophistication, we know that cybercriminals are leveraging social media to commit phishing and other social engineering attacks. This means it’s essential to remain on high alert about your use of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Don’t overshare key details about your company via these channels.

Another major concern is business email compromise, when an attacker gains access to company email for the purpose of defrauding the company, its employees or customers. Keep your passwords strong, to help keep criminals at bay.

And, not to be discounted as a fraud trend of the past, check fraud remains an ongoing concern. In fact, some estimates put check fraud attempts as doubling between 2016 and 2018.

Through a multi-pronged approach, Associated Bank is helping our clients combat these risks: through our cyber defense center, a dedicated fraud prevention team, regulatory oversight, the help of our peers and our suite of treasury management products that help specifically with this task.

Through positive pay, positive pay with positive payee verification and ACH capabilities and account reconciliation, Associated Bank has tools to help you mitigate risk.

Positive Pay

This tool helps identify fraudulent items when they appear on your account. Through the Associated Connect® online platform, you can review suspicious items before they’re paid and return checks that appear to be fraudulent.

Payee positive pay adds another level of protection by verifying the information in each check’s “Pay to the Order of” section.

ACH Blocks and Filters

ACH blocks and filters are mechanisms for preventing unauthorized ACH (automated clearinghouse) transactions from posting to your bank accounts. Only ACH transactions from authorized parties within the designated dollar limits will settle to your business account.

Account Reconciliation

Enhance audit controls and reduce fraud risk with Associated Bank’s Account Reconciliation Service. Reconcile one or multiple business accounts with our sophisticated account reconciliation services, increasing efficiency and accuracy. Choose from three levels of service: full, partial or deposit reconciliation.

Your organization’s fraud prevention toolkit should include: staff training, payment controls, security defenses and internal controls. Let Associated Bank help you in this fight. We’ll help you understand how these tools can help you reduce risks in all areas of your company’s day-to-day operations.

Contact a relationship manager at Associated Bank today.