Protecting Your Business from Fraud
Cyber security and fraud prevention is a team effort.
As much as most of us count on digital convenience, it carries the potential for others to access our financial and other information with criminal intent. To counter this, banks are always on high alert when it comes to cyber security.
At Goldcorp Union, we invest millions annually in technology, monitoring and training to protect our clients’ data. As a business owner, you also play an important role in protecting your company’s vital information.
Tips to create powerful passwords
- Use a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Many experts recommend using passwords 10 or more characters in length.
- Avoid obvious names, dates and phrases. Examples include initials, birthdates, children’s names, pets’ names, last names, your alma mater, the current year, and anything that could be mined from your social media sites.
- Change them regularly; build requirements and reminders into your systems.
- Memorize passwords and avoid writing them down. This may seem obvious, but too often a “found password” provides a criminal’s entry point.
8 digital factors your business should adopt:
The following are actions your business can take to heighten security with regard to technology and your systems management and protocols.
Use a dedicated computer for your online banking.
Then, take it a step further by restricting access to all but a handful of sites needed to interact with the bank and manage your finances. Ensuring that your online banking computer can’t be used to visit random websites closes potential access points for cyber criminals and goes a long way in protecting your business.
You can do this using custom firewall rules and host files, or services like Open DNS. The dedicated system works only if you access just your bank’s site from locked-down, dedicated machines. Making exceptions—even occasionally—undermines the whole approach.
Patch software in a timely manner.
Cyber criminals look for ways to exploit system weaknesses using viruses and malware, so it’s important to install all the regular patches and updates pushed out by your operating system provider and software vendors. If you’re not receiving notices, be proactive: mark your calendar with reminders to routinely visit their websites to check for updates and patches.
Protect computers and networks.
Install security and antivirus software that protects against malware, or malicious software, which can access computer systems without your consent.
Back up important systems and data.
Regularly backing up the data on your computers should be part of every company’s cyber management routine.
Consider all devices.
Mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets can be security challenges, especially if they hold confidential information or can access your company’s network. Allowing employees to access your company’s online banking functions using their personal devices, while convenient, adds risk. If you’re going to allow it, be stingy about who and why, and insist those devices have security passwords or thumbprint access.
Use security alert features.
At Goldcorp, you can set up a variety of alerts in your online business banking that can indicate unauthorized activity or the need for further investigation. These include alerts for transactions above a specified amount or when your balance falls below a certain level.
Implement Positive Pay services.
Available through our Treasury Management team, these tools help you identify, review and halt ACH and check transactions that may be fraudulent.
Implement dual control procedures and use of security tokens.
Having one person initiate high-value transactions, such as ACH and wire transactions, and a different employee confirm and transmit them deters fraudulent activity. You can enforce dual controls using Goldcorp’s Online Business Banking platform. We also offer security tokens allowing you to enter a unique code to approve and transmit ACH and wire transactions.