In the most recent AFP payments fraud report, 81% of survey respondent companies indicated that they experienced attempted or actual payments fraud during 2019. In this referenced article posted on PaymentsSource, the authors discuss the added vulnerability of work at home scenarios as we deal with the pandemic. It’s a good thing to be periodically reminded about methods that fraudsters will employ to get anything that helps them carry out an illicit transaction.
‘It’s essential to have strong internal controls, especially now that sensitive information is residing in your teams’ homes and on their personal networks. Preventing theft is a key component of cash management.’
In one of Mercator Advisory Group’s ongoing member research reports on the subject of payments fraud, we go into detail about business e-mail compromise (BEC), which is also cited as the number one vector for these fraud attacks in the AFP study. Anyone who has received and rejected odd requests through company e-mail systems will be familiar with this fraud vector. However, it may come as a surprise as to how often these tactics work. After all, if fraudsters have only a 1% success rate, that still provides an opportunity to get a big pay day.
‘Business Email Compromise (BEC) schemes are the most common type of attack. These involve fraudsters masquerading as suppliers, company executives, or other high-ranking personnel, requesting that funds are routed to a new, fraudulent bank account. We’re already seeing that the pandemic has provided BEC scammers with new material to convince an overwhelmed AP to comply with these requests.’
The authors go on to point out some of the additional compromise points that occur while working from home, as well as the growing fraud rates from ACH payments. The point is to review policies and practices often, and also find strong partners with comprehensive knowledge and solutions as companies continue through the digital payments transition.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
