All over the world, cyber criminals are hard at work trying to get their hands on money from wherever they can get it. Even your small business could be a target. In 2024, nearly 80% of organizations reported being victims of attempted or actual payments fraud activity, with wire transfers being a prime target.
One tactic they may use is to send you a fraudulent wire transfer request. They will contact you via email or possibly with an app like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Discord and, if they’ve done their homework, the request may look legitimate. It’s crucial to understand proper wire transfer procedures and best practices to safeguard your assets.
It’s important for you and your employees to take proactive steps to keep your business safe.
Business Wire Transfer Cybersecurity Tips for Secure Wire Transfers
- Be prepared. Implement a cybersecurity policy and review it often.
- Educate yourself and your employees on how wire fraud and email scams work and how to spot them to reduce the threat of business email compromise.
- Use encrypted email for correspondence with sensitive information.
- Implement two-factor authentication for employee email login.
- Know your customers, their reasons for initiating or requesting wire transfers and their habits regarding such wire transfers. This includes understanding the wire transfer information needed and common wire transfer requirements.
- Always verify the authenticity of each wire transfer request by implementing a two-step verification process. Verify the request by calling the requestor using a number you have previously called — not the number from the current wire transfer request. Ask for the person to verbally repeat requests to ensure that the information received is legitimate. This is a key part of wire transfer procedures best practices.
- Implement a dual control system with duty segregation for transfer approval. For example, make one person responsible for receiving a request and a second person responsible for authorizing the release of funds.
- Review your business insurance policy. Does it cover financial losses due to cybersecurity fraud? Are there specific requirements that need to be met in order for this policy to be available?
- Don’t be pressured or rushed. Requests for changes or immediate action, or a lack of availability by phone, should be met with intense scrutiny. Slow down and follow your company process.
- When sending wire instructions, try to use regular mail or fax or do it verbally over the phone. If you must use email, send the instructions through a secure email portal and have the client call you to verify the information. Consider developing a standard wire instructions template or a bank wire instructions template for internal use to ensure consistency and security.
- Don’t accept wire transfer requests from public domain email addresses (like @gmail.com) or from such alternative apps as WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger or Discord. Wire transfer requests must be received from company domain email accounts.
Stay Cyber Secure; Protect Your Business Finances With Wire Transfer Fraud Protection
Shielding your business against wire transfer fraud is critical to protecting your business’ financial assets. There are many actions you can take to avoid being a victim, but above all else you need to be prepared and educated on wire transfer best practices.
If you suspect that your business is the victim of wire transfer fraud, contact your bank immediately. The sooner they are aware, the faster they can contact the receiving financial institution to recover the sent funds.
For more tips and educational resources on how you can keep your business cyber secure, visit our online Business Security Center.
