Happy Independent Retailers Month to our Commercial Members! We thought we’d take this occasion to outline a security checklist to help keep your business’ fraud protection on track.
- The disadvantage of email influx. Because businesses interact with many vendors and customers, business owners and employees often read through email rapidly. As you are scanning, here are a couple of things to keep in mind. Don’t click on a link or an attachment from an unfamiliar sender. If you’re unsure if the email is valid, call or do an online search to verify the sender and their email address. Make sure the sender addresses make sense. If the email comes from an established vendor partner, their emails may feature their own domain. For example, emails from Hoosier Hills Credit Union employees will come from @hoosierhills.com, rather than from an @gmail or @yahoo address.
- Beware the fax machine. With high-tech digital fraud options constantly evolving, the fax machine is still a tool for some scammers. The scam often involves a claim of an unclaimed benefit, such as a distant relative’s life insurance. Scammers often use official-looking seals and stamps, logos taken from legitimate businesses and even address the communication to an actual employee, to make the piece more believable.
- Check your references. For both fax and email scams, make sure email addresses and names match up. When you’re doing additional research, take nothing for granted. Don’t use the url or phone numbers the email or fax gives you. Instead, do a search to verify employee names and email domain format.
- Prevent theft of physical documents. An even more old-fashioned tactic than fax fraud is mail and garbage theft. Having your mail delivered to a P.O. Box, rather than a more accessible mailbox is a simple way to thwart having your checks intercepted and forged. Using an office shredder is another way to prevent theft.
- ACH Transfers and Bill Pay are even safer options. ACH transfers and Online Bill Pay allow you to make payments from your own secure device, bypassing the paper trail. We can help you set up those services.
- CardValet gives you control of your cards from your smartphone. With this free card management tool offered by Hoosier Hills Credit Union, business owners and managers can limit transactions by geography and transaction types to help prevent unexpected or unauthorized use of the cards on your company’s account. You can even set thresholds to ensure employee spending adheres to company policy.
Stay in the know. We make frequent updates to our Fraud Center and the HHCU Blog. And, as a commercial member of HHCU, you always have access to our experienced team of lenders. Give us a call. We’re always happy to help.