Educating Your Employees on Fraud Prevention

Your employees are the first line of defense against fraudulent threats.

It's crucial that they are vigilant against fraud.

As the fraud landscape continues to evolve, it’s important your business is educating everyone in the organization about fraud awareness and how to spot red flags. Failure to educate your employees on fraud awareness and red flags may result in a substantial loss for your business.

How to Spot Red Flags:

• Urgency and secrecy in demands – Requests to keep a transaction “confidential” or demanding immediate action to prevent you from consulting colleagues.

• Irregular Payment Requests – Requests to change the method of payment or final destination, such as shifting from ACH to a wire transfer or changing bank account information with a vendor on a scheduled payment.

• Requests to bypass standard approval process – Requests that instill urgency by asking you to skip standard approval processes o to verify the transaction approval later.

• Unusual communication channels – If you typically receive emails and receive a request via text instead or if you receive a communication from someone other than your normal contact person.

Tips to Stay Safe:

• Be Skeptical of Unexpected Phone Calls, Text Messages, and Emails – Scammers impersonating trusted companies or organizations can make the communication feel legitimate. Use caution when they ask for account details, passwords, verification codes, or ask you to download an unfamiliar app. When in doubt, contact the company directly through a trusted number.

• DO NOT share online banking credentials, token number, serial number or PINs – No legitimate company or service will ask you to provide them with this information. If someone asks you to provide them, slow down and be cautious as it is a scam.

At BOS, we are committed to keeping your information safe and secure. It’s equally important that you take the necessary precautions to protect your account. For an in-depth review of your current fraud prevention and security procedures, check out the BOS Fraud Exposure Checklist.

To further safeguard your business, BOS offers valuable products like Positive Pay and Cyber Insurance. These resources are designed to help protect your company from fraud-related losses. If you’d like more information or have questions, our Business Services team is ready to assist you. Visit a local BOS branch or call 877-698-3278.

If you notice suspicious or fraudulent account activity, please call us immediately at 877-698-3278.

Insurance products are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any government agency. Insurance products are not deposits, obligations, or guaranteed by the bank or its affiliates. Insurance products may lose value. Insurance products are not a condition to any bank loan, product or service.