Wire Transfer Fraud Attempts on the Rise

Attempts at cyber wire transfer fraud have surged in recent months. Cyber criminals request wire transfers in emails purporting to be from senior corporate executives or business suppliers who regularly request payments. The best way to safeguard against these attempts is to implement internal controls, educate your employees on safe practices and routinely review these procedures to stay ahead of new cyber scams. Following are steps you can take to minimize your risk of being victimized by wire transfer scam artists:

1. Require telephone—not email—follow-up with the person requesting the wire transfer.
2. Require written documentation detailing the amount, purpose and destination of the wire transfer.
3. Require your bank to call a specified individual—someone other than the person who initiated the transfer—to confirm each wire transfer.
4. Require that at least two individuals initiate/complete all wire transfers, or at least all wire transfers over a certain dollar amount.
5. Establish “verbal-only” codes with vendors to verify their identity when discussing a wire transfer by telephone.
6. Dedicate a computer with a strong firewall solely for the purpose of wire transfers, routinely scan it for viruses and require employees to use unique and strong passwords that are changed frequently.
7. Review all wire approval limits annually with your bank, adjust accordingly and inform employees of these limits.
8. Conduct regular employee training on wire transfer controls and procedures, how to identify suspicious emails and what actions to take should an email request be deemed urgent or confidential.
9. Consider not using an automatic “I’m out of the office” email reply message which sends a red flag to thieves about your absence.
10. Limit personal information made available online which thieves could use to assume your identity.
11. If you believe you have fallen victim to a wire transfer scam, notify law enforcement, your bank, your accountant and your attorney.

If you have questions about wire transfer fraud, or if you would like SSB to help you establish internal controls for your business, contact Janice Jasinski, CPA and Certified Fraud Examiner, at 330-533-1131.