Fraud Protection

BEC is a scam that targets businesses and their employees who have the ability to send checks, wire transfers, and ACH transfers. BEC fraudsters impersonate vendors and ask for payment outside the normal course of business. In a typical BEC scheme, the victim receives a message supposedly from a company the victim normally conducts business with. The message requests that standard payment practices be altered in some way, such as by sending money to a new account. Be on the lookout for the following:

• A sense of urgency and last-minute changes to wire instructions or recipient information
• Unexpected changes to established communication platforms or email addresses
• Spoofed domains that appear to come from a trusted source but are slightly altered
• Asking for advance payment of services when not previously required
• Requests from employees to change direct deposit information

Remember to always verify payment requests, unexpected messages, and last minute changes with your colleagues. Apart from financial loss, you risk intellectual property theft, legal expenses, and reputation damage. When in doubt, call and verify!

"Phishing" is when a fraudster sends emails that appear to be from a reputable company, organization, or even a friend in an effort to gain access to personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers. When victims receive these emails, and believe they are legitimate, they might open a malicious attachment causing malware to infect their system or enter their login credentials and expose personal and confidential information. This type of fraud can lead to financial crimes such as business email compromise, personal information theft, ransomware and account takeovers.

It's critical to be wary of suspicious emails even if they appear to be from a friend or associate. Never open attachments or click on links, until you've confirmed their legitimacy. 

“Vishing” is when a fraudster uses the telephone to scam a user into providing private or confidential information such as online banking credentials. These scams are now on the rise. Users report that they are receiving a phone call from someone posing as a “Security Officer of a Bank” asking them to confirm suspicious transactions on their account. Once they confirm the transactions are not valid, the imposter proceeds to “verify” the end user by asking them to provide their Online Banking credentials including Out of Band Authentication codes. The fraudster then gains access to the user's accounts and can complete fraudulent transactions.

Remember that American Bank will never ask you for your login credentials. If you receive a phone call that appears to be fraudulent, please call us directly to report the incident. 

Tech Support Fraud involves a criminal claiming to provide customer, security, or technical support in an effort to defraud unsuspecting individuals. This type of fraud continues to be a problematic and widespread scam.

Criminals posing as a support representative will offer to resolve such issues as a compromised email or bank account, a virus on a computer, or to assist with a software license renewal. Some recent complaints involve criminals posing as technical support reps for computer or printer companies, cable companies, or government agents, even offering to recover supposed losses related to tech support fraud schemes or to request financial assistance with “apprehending” criminals.

Initial contact with the victim typically occurs through the following methods:

• Telephone: A victim receives an unsolicited telephone call from an individual claiming the victim’s device or computer is infected with a virus or is sending error messages to the caller.
• Search Engine Advertising: Individuals in need of tech support may use online search engines to find technical support companies. Criminals pay to have their fraudulent tech support company’s link show higher in search results hoping victims will choose one of the top links in search results.
• Pop-up message: The victim receives an on-screen pop-up message claiming a virus has been found on their computer. In order to receive assistance, the message requests the victim call a phone number associated with the fraudulent tech support company.
• Locked screen on a device: The victim’s device displays a frozen, locked screen with a phone number and instructions to contact a fraudulent tech support company. Some victims have reported being redirected to alternate websites before the locked screen occurs.
• Phishing email warning: The victim receives a phishing email warning of a possible intrusion to their computer or an email warning of a fraudulent account charge to their bank accounts or credit cards. The email provides a phone number for the recipient to contact the fraudulent tech support.

Never give unknown, unverified persons remote access to devices or accounts and remember that legitimate customer, security, or tech support companies will not initiate unsolicited contact with individuals. You should also ensure all your computer anti-virus, security, and malware protection is up to date. 

There is a rising trend of online romance-related scams, in which scammers create fake profiles on dating apps or social media sites and start conversations with their targets to build trust. Once they have gained the victim's confidence through an online relationship, they claim to have knowledge of cryptocurrency investment or trading opportunities that will result in profit. Other times, they make up a story and ask for money. Typically, the scammer directs the victim to a website or application that requires confidential information.

Never send, trade, or invest your money per the advice of someone you met online. Remember that people who urge you to act fast, especially with your money, are likely to be scam artists. Keep your finances private. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere. While it has it's benefits, AI offers various advantages and tools to cyber criminals, making it harder for the average consumer to detect fraud. 

• Advanced Phishing: AI crafted phishing emails may include advanced data mining tactics, which can analyze data from other online platforms to create personalized messages and appear more credible. 
• Deepfakes: Criminals can use AI to create realistic audio and video content impersonating executives, family members, bankers, celebrities, and more. 
• Synthetic Identities: AI may be used to create convincing fake identities that can be used to open accounts, create online profiles, apply for credit cards, and trick fraud detection systems. 
• Misinformation: Scammers can use AI to create convincing fake reviews, articles, profiles, and websites to trick businesses and consumers.

Remember to educate yourself and your peers on the latest types of fraud. Learn to recognize the signs. Update your security measures to ensure they are equipped to handle the latest technologies. 

Criminals are getting better at manipulating and counterfeiting checks in order to illegally obtain funds. Check fraud is expensive and it can damage your reputation. Here's how it happens. 

• Check Kiting: Fraudsters manipulate the timing of check deposits and withdrawals by constantly moving funds between accounts and taking advantage of the time it takes for checks to clear. 
• Forgery: Fraudsters alter checks by forging signatures, modifying payee information, or changing the dollar amount on an existing check. 
• Lost or Stolen Checks: Criminals may steal blank checks, often from your mailbox, and use them for fraudulent transactions. 
• Account Takeover: Through various cyber scams such as phishing, vishing, social engineering, and romance scams, fraudsters can take over bank accounts and write fraudulent checks. 
• Counterfeit Checks: Disguised to appear legitimate, counterfeit checks may appear to come from an existing, legitimate company, but are actually fake. 

Remember to keep your checkbooks in a secure place and shred old checks before throwing them away. If you're ever unsure of a check, verify it's legitimacy with your bank. 

Positive Pay solutions can help businesses catch check fraud before it happens by allowing users to review checks, know which items were paid, eliminate or reduce Stop Pay fees, and much more. 

Cryptocurrency and investment schemes are designed to steal your money. These opportunities may sound promising, but are deceptive schemes that exploit new financial technologies. 

• "Pump and dump" schemes: fraudsters will post messages online urging readers to quickly buy or sell a stock before the price goes down. Once these fraudsters sell their shares and stop hyping the stock, the price typically falls and investors lose their money.
• Ponzi schemes: scammers promise high returns and constantly circulate funds from one investor to the other, creating a false image of profitability. 
• Pig Butchering: an investment scam where con artists create fake profiles, build relationships with victims, and defraud them. 

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Do your research before committing and when in doubt, work with an investment advisor.