9 ACH & Wire Fraud Prevention Tips

Email takeover continues to pose a threat to the banking sector, resulting in ACH and wire payment fraud. Fraudsters have continued to enhance their sophisticated impersonation techniques and hacking abilities, enabling them to obtain sensitive information from you and your employees. Consequently, this scam attempt has caused businesses to lose money by inadvertently transferring funds electronically to fraudsters posing as a legitimate company.

To safeguard against such threats and prevent fraudulent bank transfers, we have compiled a set of best practices to implement in your company when handling new or updated ACH payment and/or wire transfer instructions.


1. Direct Verification
Always validate new electronic payment requests by contacting the requestor directly and authenticating the updated account information.

2. Verified Contact Information
Utilize verified contact phone numbers that you know to be accurate—regardless of time zones—instead of relying on numbers provided in email or text requests.

3. Valid Invoices
Prior to processing payments, verify that the requested payment aligns with a legitimate invoice, ensuring that the format and layout match previous invoices.

4. Exercise Caution with Links
Obtain confirmation from the sender before clicking on any links or opening attachments in emails or texts containing new or updated electronic transfer instructions, as they may be phishing attempts containing malware.

5. Email Address Validation
Be vigilant as fraudsters may create email addresses closely resembling, but not identical to, those of your customers, vendors, and providers. Double-check that the email address corresponds with your records.

6. Trust Verification for New Payment Recipients
Before sending payments to new electronic transfer recipients, ascertain the authenticity and trustworthiness of the receiving party ensuring they are a legitimate company or individual.

7. Beware of Overpayment Scams
Exercise caution if contacted by a fraudster claiming an error in a prior invoice and requesting electronic funds for the overpayment—always verify the validity of such claims.

8. Vigilance with Urgent Payment Requests
Approach urgent emails requesting immediate ACH or wire transfers with caution, as fraudsters use urgency to manipulate expedited payment processing.  Take time to validate all information before proceeding.

9. Secure ACH Records
Safeguard ACH-specific information, including account numbers and transaction details, by storing them securely on your company server or in a locked drawer when not in use for payment processing.

These best practices are essential safeguards for your company to have in place to help prevent electronic payment fraud. For more information on safeguarding ACH payments, visit the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)'s, which governs the ACH network. Additionally, your local CSB banker is always available to assist you with any questions regarding ACH Payments.