Business Banking Fraud Protection

Understanding the Risks

New supervisory guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) is helping banks strengthen their vigilance and assure that your business accounts are properly secure. FFIEC studies show that the threat landscape is changing, and many organized criminal groups continue to deploy more sophisticated methods to compromise authentication mechanisms and gain unauthorized access to customers’ online accounts.

Enhanced Controls Protect Higher Risks

The guidance addresses the fact that not every online transaction poses the same level of risk and recommends that financial institution implement more robust controls as the risk level of the transaction increases. Online business transactions generally involve ACH file origination and frequent wire transfers. Since the frequency and dollars amounts of these transactions are generally higher than consumer transactions, they pose a comparatively increased level of risk to the institution and its customer. Banks are advised to implement security plans utilizing controls consistent with the increased level of risk for covered business transactions. These enhanced controls are designed to exceed the controls applicable to routine customer users. For example, a preventive control could include requiring an additional authentication routine prior to final implementation of the access or application changes. Based upon the incidents the Agencies have reviewed, enhanced controls over administrative access and functions can effectively reduce money transfer fraud.

Layered Security for Increased Safety

For added security, both single and multi-factor authentication, as well as additional “layered security” measures, are used when appropriate. Layered security is characterized by the use of different controls at different points in a transaction process so that a weakness in one control is generally compensated for by the strength of a different control. This allows the bank to authenticate customers and respond to suspicious activity related to initial login then later to reconfirm this authentication when further transactions involve the transfer of funds. For business accounts, layered security might often include enhanced controls for system administrators who are granted privileges to set up or change system configurations, such as setting access privileges and application configurations and/or limitations.

Internal Assessments

The FFIEC supervisory guidance offers ways banks can look for anomalies that could indicate fraud. The goal is to ensure that the level of authentication called for in a particular transaction is appropriate to the level of risk in that application. To this end, we have conducted a comprehensive risk-assessment of our methods as recommended in the FFIEC guidelines. These assessments include:

Changes in the internal and external threat environment
Changes in the customer base adopting electronic banking
Changes in the customer functionality offered through electronic banking; and
Actual incidents of security breaches, identity theft, or fraud experienced by the institution or industry.

We strongly urge all business customers to conduct similar internal assessments to endure the highest level of security possible for your transactions.

Protection Under “Reg E”

Regulation E sets specific rules for electronic transactions. Under the protections provided under this regulation, consumers can recover Internet banking losses according to how soon they are reported. In general, these protections are extended to consumers and consumer accounts. Please contact us for details about how Reg E might affect your business account.

Report Suspicions

If you notice suspicious activity within your account or experience security-related events you can contact a Service Representative at any branch location of Rabun County Bank. Please refer to the “Contacts” page of our web site (www.rabuncountybank.com) to locate a branch location near you.

No Rabun County Bank employee or service provider of Rabun County Bank will contact you to request your password. If you are contacted by anyone requesting your password, or believe your password has been compromised, please change your password and contact us immediately.

User ID and Password Guidelines

Create a “strong” password with at least 8 characters that includes a combination of mixed case letters, numbers, and special characters.
Change your password frequently.
Never share username and password information with third-party providers.
Avoid using an automatic login feature that saves usernames and passwords.

General Guidelines

Do not use public or other unsecured computers for logging into Business eBanking.
Users should check the last login date/time every time they log in.
Review account balances and detail transactions regularly (preferably daily) to confirm payment and other transaction data and immediately report any suspicious transactions to your financial institution.
View transfer history available through viewing account activity information.
Whenever possible, use Bill Pay instead of checks to limit account number dissemination exposure and to obtain better electronic record keeping.
Take advantage of and regularly view system alerts; examples include:
- ACH Alerts
- Wire Alerts
- Password change alerts
Do not use account numbers, your social security number, or other account or personal information when creating account nicknames or other titles.
Whenever possible, register your computer to avoid having to re-enter challenge questions and other authentication information with each login.
Review historical reporting features of your online banking application on a regular basis to confirm payment and other transaction data.
Never leave a computer unattended while using Business eBanking.
Never conduct banking transactions while multiple browsers are open on your computer.

Administrative Users

Prohibit the use of “shared” usernames and passwords for Business eBanking.
Limit administrative rights on users’ workstations to help prevent the inadvertent downloading of malware or other viruses.
Dedicate and limit the number of computers used to complete online banking transactions; do not allow Internet browsing or e-mail exchange and ensure these computers are equipped with the latest versions and patches of both anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
Delete online user IDs as part of the exit procedure when employees leave your company.
Assign dual system administrators for online cash management services.
Use multiple approvals for monetary transactions and require separate entry and approval users.
Establish transaction dollar limits for employees who initiate and approve online payments such as ACH batches, wire transfers, and account transfers.

Tips to Protect Online Payments & Account Data

Take advantage of transaction limits. Establish limits for monetary transactions at multiple levels: per transaction, daily, weekly, or monthly limits.
When you have completed a transaction, ensure you log off to close the connection with the financial organization’s computer.
Use separate accounts for electronic and paper transactions to simplify monitoring and tracking any discrepancies.
Reconcile by carefully monitoring account activity and reviewing all transactions initiated by your company on a daily basis.

ACH (Automated Clearing House Batches)

Use pre-notification transactions to verify that account numbers within your ACH payments are correct.
Use limits for monetary transactions at multiple levels: per transaction, daily, weekly, or monthly limits.
Review transaction reporting regularly to confirm transaction activity.

Wire Transfer

Use limits provided for monetary transactions at multiple levels: per transaction, daily, weekly, or monthly limits.
Review historical and audit reports regularly to confirm transaction activity.

Account Transferr

Use limits provided for monetary transactions at multiple levels: per transaction, daily, weekly, or monthly limits.
Review historical and audit reports regularly to confirm transaction activity.

Tips to Avoid Phishing, Spyware and Malware

Do not open e-mail from unknown sources. Be suspicious of e-mails purporting to be from a financial institution, government department, or other agency requesting account information, account verification, or banking access credentials such as usernames, passwords, PIN codes, and similar information. Opening file attachments or clicking on web links in suspicious e-mails could expose your system to malicious code that could hijack your computer.
Never respond to a suspicious e-mail or click on any hyperlink embedded in a suspicious e-mail. Call the purported source if you are unsure who sent an e-mail.
If an e-mail claiming to be from your financial organization seems suspicious, checking with your financial organization may be appropriate.
Install anti-virus and spyware detection software on all computer systems. Free software may not provide protection against the latest threats compared with an industry standard product.
Update all of your computers regularly with the latest versions and patches of both anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
Ensure computers are patched regularly, particularly operating system and key application with security patches.
Install a dedicated, actively managed firewall, especially if using a broadband or dedicated connection to the Internet, such as DSL or cable. A firewall limits the potential for unauthorized access to your network and computers.
Check your settings and select, at least, a medium level of security for your browsers.
Clear the browser cache before starting any Business eBanking session to eliminate copies of web pages that have been stored on the hard drive. How the cache is cleared depends on the browser and version you are using. This function is generally found in the browser’s preferences menu.
Be advised that you will never be presented with a maintenance page after entering login credentials. Legitimate maintenance pages are displayed when first reaching the URL and before entering login credentials.
Business eBanking does not use pop-up windows to display login messages or errors. They are displayed directly on the login screen.
Business eBanking never displays pop-up messages indicating that you cannot use your current browser.
Business eBanking error messages never include an amount of time to wait before trying to login again.
Be advised that repeatedly being asked to enter your password/token code are signs of potentially harmful activity.
Being asked challenge questions if your computer was previously registered is a sign of potentially harmful activity.

Tips for Wireless Network Management

Wireless networks can provide an unintended open door to your business network. Unless a valid business reason exists for wireless network use, it is recommended that all wireless networks be disabled. If a wireless network is to be used for legitimate business purposes, it is recommended that wireless networks be secured as follows:

Change the wireless network hardware (router /access point) administrative password from the factory default to a complex password. Save the password in a secure location as it will be needed to make future changes to the device.
Disable remote administration of the wireless network hardware (router / access point).
If possible, disable broadcasting the network SSID.
If your device offers WPA encryption, secure your wireless network by enabling WPA encryption of the wireless network. If your device does not support WPA encryption, enable WEP encryption.
If only known computers will access the wireless network, consider enabling MAC filtering on the network hardware. Every computer network card is assigned a unique MAC address. MAC filtering will only allow computers with permitted MAC addresses access to the wireless network.

Rev. August 2011