Practical steps to reduce payment fraud, control account access, and avoid scams | Coulee Bank

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Three Smart Ways to Protect Your Business

Practical steps to reduce payment fraud, control account access, and avoid scams

Cybersecurity does not always require a complicated new system. Sometimes, the most effective improvements come from reviewing the everyday ways your business sends money, grants access and responds to unexpected requests.


Here are three practical steps your business can take to reduce its risk.


Consider Moving Away from Paper Checks


Checks can expose valuable information, including your account and routing numbers, authorized signatures, and payment details. Check fraud continues to be a concern for businesses, making secure electronic alternatives such as ACH worth considering.


ACH transfers can make payments faster and easier to track while reducing the need to mail or physically handle checks. However, no payment method is completely risk-free. Businesses should use strong internal controls, such as requiring a second employee to approve certain payments and independently verifying new or changed payment instructions.


Coulee Bank's Treasury Management Team can help you explore whether ACH payments and other payment tools are a good fit for your business.


Review Your Online Banking Users


When an employee changes roles or leaves the company, their access may no longer be appropriate. Set aside time to review every person with access to your business's online banking and ask:


• Does this person still need access?

• Are their permissions appropriate for their current responsibilities?

• Do they have administrative rights they do not need?

• Are former employees or unused accounts still listed?

• Are transaction limits and approval requirements still appropriate?


Remove old accounts promptly and give each employee only the permissions needed to perform their job.


Do Not Trust Caller ID Alone


Scammers can spoof a phone number, so an incoming call or text appears to come from Coulee Bank, another financial institution, or a vendor your business already uses. A familiar name or number on the screen does not prove the person contacting you is legitimate.


The imposter may claim there is suspicious activity, a payment problem, or an urgent account issue. They may already know details about your company and use pressure to persuade an employee to share a password or one-time security code, approve a transaction, move money, or accept new vendor payment instructions.


If a caller or message asks for sensitive information or payment action, stop and verify it independently. Hang up and call Coulee Bank, your financial institution, or the vendor using a trusted number from an official website, account statement, card, contract, or your own records, never a number supplied in the suspicious message. Verify every request to change vendor banking or payment instructions with a known contact before sending funds.


Just a few straightforward conversations and regular reviews can make your business a much more difficult target. To learn more about secure payment options or business online banking controls, contact Coulee Bank's Treasury Management Team at: 833‑221‑6550 or email [email protected].