Security News > 2022 > April > Organizations must be doing something good: Payment fraud activity is declining

Results from an Association for Financial Professionals survey are encouraging, as 71% of organizations report having been victims of payments fraud activity in 2021, lower than the 81% reported in 2019 and the lowest percentage recorded since 2014.

Check fraud activity is unchanged from the prior year at 66%, while the share of respondents reporting payments fraud via ACH debits increased four percentage points from last year to 37%. Checks and ACH debits are the most susceptible to payments fraud, while wire fraud activity continued its steady decline from 48% in 2017 to 32% in 2021.

Wires and ACH credits are both key targets for email scams, with each of these payment methods targeted at 41% of organizations in 2021.

"While payments fraud remains a tremendous challenge for organizations, the decreases we're seeing in nearly every area are a clear signal of the efforts of our colleagues and business leaders to curb fraudulent payments activity from criminal attempts," said Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP. "That said, we must remain vigilant in our pursuit of education, training and innovation in order to remain one step ahead of our sophisticated adversaries."

"It's encouraging to see the positive outcome of so many companies continuing to proactively combat payments fraud in their organizations," said Sue Dean, head of payments solutions for J.P. Morgan's Commercial Banking business.

Other highlights Two-thirds of organizations are validating payment beneficiary information, either through their vendor/bank or by using an external service.

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/11/payments-fraud-activity/