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Visit UsOctober is not only the beginning of spooky season, but also Cybersecurity Awareness Month, serving as a reminder that ghouls aren’t the only thing to fear. As scams continue to rise, businesses and consumers need to find tools and resources to help protect themselves. In this article, we hope to teach you some tips to recognize these common tricks.
AI Fraud Can Abduct Your Data
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become prevalent in many aspects of life and technology and, unfortunately, fraud.
Sift, a digital trust and safety company, recently found that 76% of fraud and risk professionals believe their business has been targeted by AI fraud, with over half reporting this type of fraud happening daily or weekly.1
"Fraud actors are rapidly adopting AI as a tool to supercharge their attacks, and both businesses and consumers are clearly feeling the impact," said Armen Najarian, Chief Marketing Officer at Sift. "Businesses must invest in AI to ‘fight fire with fire’ to not only counter the threats posed by AI itself, but to streamline the customer experience and turn fraud prevention into profitable growth.”
It's important to stay vigilant as AI leads to more sophisticated scams. Look out for pressure tactics, last minute changes in communication, unverified credentials, a limited digital footprint, and lack of human oversight.
When in doubt, verify with your colleagues.
Mail Fraud Can Give You Nightmares!
Mail fraud isn't a new concept, but it's just as much of a threat as it ever was, especially fraud with checks by mail.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) recently issued a Financial Trend Analysis on mail theft-related check fraud incidents.2 It received 15,417 reports from 841 financial institutions on mail theft-related check fraud, amounting to more than $688 million in reported suspicious activity. FinCEN identified three primary outcomes after checks were stolen from the mail:
- 44% were altered and then deposited.
- 26% were used as templates to create counterfeit checks.
- 20% were fraudulently signed and deposited.
Businesses and consumers must ensure checks are properly filled out, shred all important checks and documents before throwing them away, and consider digital payment options when possible.
Business Email Compromise Can Make You Batty!
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a scam in which criminals send an email that looks like it comes from a known source making a legitimate request, and according to the FBI, BEC is one of the most financially damaging online crimes.
Here are some examples of threats to beware of:
- A vendor your company regularly deals with sends an invoice with an updated mailing address.
- A company CEO asks her assistant to purchase dozens of gift cards to send out as employee rewards. She asks for the serial numbers so she can email them out right away.
- A homebuyer receives a message from his title company with instructions on how to wire his down payment.
Fraud is scary. It's a real threat, and it exists everywhere. Educate your staff about the threats that exist and how to protect your business.
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1SIFT. “Report: Two-Thirds of Businesses Face AI-Fueled Fraud Regularly.” GlobeNewswire News Room, SIFT, 25 June 2024, www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/06/25/2904022/0/en/Report-Two-thirds-of-Businesses-Face-AI-Fueled-Fraud-Regularly.html. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
2“FinCEN Issues In-Depth Analysis of Check Fraud Related to Mail Theft | FinCEN.gov.” Fincen.gov, 9 Sept. 2024, fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-issues-depth-analysis-check-fraud-related-mail-theft. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.
3“How We Can Help You .” FBI.gov, Federal Bureau of Investigation, www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-frauds-and-scams/business-email-compromise.
