Establish Internal Controls

Monitor your accounts often and throughout the day to catch fraud.

• Review wires, transfers, ACH transactions and business checks every day.
• Watch for unauthorized or unfamiliar transactions.
• Verify any changes to vendor account numbers, payees, payment addresses or payment amounts.
• Investigate anything that doesn’t match when reconciling accounts.
• If something feels off, contact your Summit Business Relationship Manager immediately.

Reminder: Businesses only have 24 hours or less to spot and report fraudulent check or ACH transactions (a rule set by the Federal Reserve). Wire transfers and debit card losses are immediate and often impossible to recover.

Implement workflows to reduce risk of loss:

• Require dual control, which means two people are needed to approve one transaction. One person initiates a wire or ACH; another approves it internally.
• Protect all user IDs, codes and passwords. Store sensitive information in password protected files and avoid sharing credentials.
• Create clear, documented financial policies. Define how transactions must be handled and who is authorized to complete them.

Secure and Maintain Computer Systems

Protect your devices and networks from malware.

• Avoid opening emails or attachments from unknown senders, and never share usernames, passwords, PINs or one-time passcodes.
• Only download software from trusted sources.
• Keep firewalls, antivirus and antispyware tools updated automatically.
• Use the most secure settings available in your web browser.
• Don’t plug unknown USB drives or external devices into company computers; if you must, scan them with antivirus software first.

Limit access to any systems or computers you use for sensitive tasks.

• Use a dedicated computer for payment tasks (such as sending or approving wires or printing checks) so it’s clear when it’s in use and by whom.
• Protect sensitive actions with strong authentication, including passwords and multi-factor authentication (like confirming a sign-in with a code sent to a phone or security token).

Monitor Financial Roles and Restrict Access

Create transparent processes and personally handle finances:

• Rotate financial duties to prevent any one employee from controlling a full process. Shared responsibility reduces fraud risk, adds oversight and improves overall quality control.
• Personally review your financial statements and restrict access to these documents, checks, credit cards and cash.
• Talk to your employees about your auditing processes so they know any suspicious behavior would be on your radar.

Streamline Treasury Management

Put extra safety precautions in place when working with vendors:

• Never share payment instructions by phone or fax — they can be intercepted or exploited by scammers.
• Require a password that only your vendor knows.
• Hang up on the caller and contact the vendor directly to complete the transaction.
• Require a second vendor representative to approve and sign off on payments.
• Consider outsourcing accounts payable and accounts receivables to a reputable, secure firm if you don’t have enough internal staff to support dual approval processes.
• Don't provide member or account numbers to new or untrusted vendors for electronic payments.

Use different accounts for different payment methods:

• Use a separate operating account for writing checks so your main funds stay protected.
• Maintain a cash concentration account for moving money between accounts, but add a debit block to prevent unauthorized withdrawals.
• Review all accounts and transactions daily to catch suspicious activity quickly.

Choose electronic and card payments over paper checks to reduce fraud:

• Keep paper checks to a minimum to minimize the risk of them falling into the wrong hands.
• Secure the checks you keep for 60 days (or time period defined by your policy) after a mobile deposit in a safe spot. These have all the information a fraudster would need.

Consider these available payment fraud prevention services:

• Positive Pay or Check Block Services: Reduce electronic fraud by using ACH Positive Pay and Debit Blocks, which prevent unauthorized ACH activity similar to Positive Pay and Check Block services but for electronic transactions.
• Summit “Lockbox": Send incoming check payments directly to a Summit lockbox for secure processing instead of storing checks on site, where they can be stolen. If you keep preprinted or incoming checks at your location, lock them up.