The Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, has issued an advisory about a recent rash of email and hacking schemes that have defrauded businesses and individuals of “billions” of dollars. Many of these target parties to real estate transactions, and businesses holding escrow accounts.
Any email containing wire/ bank account information should be encrypted / password protected.
Advise your customers to obtain verbal confirmation from your office of any email purporting to be from you providing them wire instructions.
Advise your employees to obtain verbal confirmation from your payees of their wire information.
If you, or your customers, have been deceived into wiring funds to a crook, you are not covered.
Check your account activity regularly for unauthorized transactions. Your own bank will deny coverage for fraudulent transactions, given half an excuse.
Checks should be kept locked at all times. You are not covered for use of stolen checks.
YOU CAN NOT MONITOR YOUR ACCOUNTS FOR UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY TOO CLOSELY