Corporate Account Takeover is a form of cyber fraud that illegally accesses business accounts electronically resulting in monetary loss due to fraudulent transfers.
How It's Done:
Cyber criminals gain access to business accounts through technology based methods. This is done when victims are tricked into giving access or providing confidential or business account information to cyber criminals online.
Once a business owner or employee clicks on a fraudulent email or website link, the malware infects the victim's computer and allows the criminal to see and track information that ultimately leads to compromised banking credentials. With compromised banking credentials, the cyber criminal gains access to business accounts and initiates fraudulent account transfers. Some activities that can lead to Corporate Account Takeover include:
- Opening an email and clicking a fraudulent link.
- Visiting a compromised website that installs malware on your computer.
- Accepting a fake friend request on social media networking sites and providing personal information.
How To Protect Yourself:
As a business owner or employee, there are some actions that you can take to help minimize the potential of being a victim of Corporate Account Takeover:
- Educate all employees on this type of fraud scheme.
- Enhance the security of your computer and networks to protect against this fraud.
- Enhance the security of your corporate banking processes and protocols.
- Monitor and reconcile accounts at least once a day.
- Run regular virus and malware scans of your computer's hard drive.
