Automatic Clearing House Fraud or ACH Fraud is becoming an increasingly popular way for hackers to siphon money out of the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims. And criminals only need two pieces of information to pull it off. That is your checking account number and a bank routing number. Another common way criminals obtain banking information is with targeted phishing email that tricks the victims into running malicious software, which then allows the criminals to steal account passwords.
Many small business owners incorrectly think their business accounts are covered against fraud by the FDIC. That is not the case, and victims who have money stolen from their business checking accounts often are not even aware until it is too late to do anything about it.
Some Tips To Protect Yourself from bank Fraud:
- Never use debit cards for online purchases!
- Have a dedicated PC for online banking and DON’T use that PC for accessing any other web sites, e-mail access, social media sites or for downloading files and applications.
- Sign up for e-mail alerts from your bank for any withdrawal over $100.
- Require YOUR signature for all wire transfers.
- Have your money spread out in multiple accounts to minimize the risk. Consider using a separate checking account for paychecks and online bill pay.
