Security for Business

Security for Businesses

Fraud is usually limited to an isolated attempt to steal money from an existing account, such as an unauthorized wire transfer or counterfeiting of checks.  If First Republic Bank identifies suspicious activity indicating fraud, we may place an alert on your account and contact you to validate any transaction.

While much of the information discussed on this site has been developed for consumers, a fair portion also applies to business accounts; the helpful tips below will help protect both the consumer and business. 

External fraud can be committed through many channels, including mail, wire, phone, and Internet. The global availability of the web and ease with which users can hide their location, the difficulty of checking identity and legitimacy online, and the simplicity with which hackers can divert browsers to dishonest sites and steal credit card details have all contributed to the very rapid growth of Internet fraud.

There are additional important helpful tips to consider as a business client of First Republic Bank:

• Reconcile your accounts frequently, review account activity daily online
• Assign financial transaction responsibilities to at least two people so no one person is responsible for issuance of checks, entry to your accounting system and reconciliation of your financial statements
• Keep check stock in a secure location when not in use
• Personally review and sign all checks issued
• Verify references and perform a background check on all new employees
• Require customers to provide identification for checks and on card signature transactions
• Develop and train your team on security procedures including:
  • Use of credentials and passwords,
  • Use of personal email accounts and surfing the web
  • Protection of company assets including data, inventory and information
• If permitted by your business processes:
  
  • Establish red flags for wire and ACH transactions, such as a new payee, account number, dollar thresholds or international transfers, and assign someone to verbally verify the details of these transactions with the payment instructions provider to ensure they have not been modified by a fraudster.
  • Dedicate a single computer for exclusive use for on-line transactions. Do not allow the computer to be used for email or general Web surfing. This will minimize the possibility that the computer could be infected by emails with malicious attachments or links to fraudulent web sites.
  • Use maker/checker or submitter/approver procedures to reduce the chance that one person could initiate an unauthorized transaction.
• Periodically perform a risk assessment of the technology, processes and controls used for banking to identify any weaknesses or vulnerabilities.