Fraud and CATO Prevention
Of all the things you have to think about each day, is the security of your business's banking accounts one of them? Businesses of all sizes have to know, understand and be proactive in regards to account fraud and Corporate Account Takeover, or CATO.
What is Corporate Account Takeover?
Corporate Account Takeover occurs when a business's accounts are compromised by criminals and are used to conduct fraudulent transactions. CATO affects small, medium and large businesses. Therefore, we've supplied the following tips and resources to help you be prepared and thwart attempts at taking over your business accounts.
CATO Prevention Tips
- Adopt the right mindset: treat the security of your online accounts and transactions just as you would the security of your physical location.
- If possible, have one standalone computer workstation to conduct your online financial transactions. This computer should have internet browsing and email access disabled, as well as have a firewall, anti-virus and other such protective software installed.
- Limit the access you give to your online banking system, both in the number of employees with access and what all areas of the system they have access to.
- Educate your employees. They are your first line of defense against CATO. Teach them the warning signs and safe practices to keep your company and your customers safe.
- Institute rules on using strong passwords/passphrases that must be changed at least once a quarter.
- Ensure all office workstations are protected by commercial-grade firewall and anti-virus software and limit the ability to access non-work-related websites.
Check out other tips and resources from the American Bankers Association
