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TEXT: Outsmarting the Crook: Fraudulent Instructions
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Light gray gradient background, no on-screen graphic.
TEXT: Tracey Santor, Product Manager for Financial Institution Bonds, Travelers.
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I'm Tracey Santor, product manager for financial institution bonds at Travelers. Today, I'd like to talk through some tips to help you and your clients avoid fraud and generally outsmart the crooks. You may have heard about something called fraudulent instructions.
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Illustration of a man at a computer viewing a screen displaying customer data in a code-style format. A yellow warning triangle with an exclamation point appears in the upper right corner. Dark gray background.
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A fraudulent instruction is where criminals gather information about bank customers
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Illustration of a bearded man in a red sweater, seen from behind, seated at a desk facing a computer screen. The screen displays a "Payment due" notification from "[email protected]," followed by redacted text lines, then "Send Money to: Acc 1234567890." Light gray background with abstract geometric shapes.
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and then use the information to mislead the bank employee into sending money to an account controlled by the criminal. Continuous staff training is absolutely critical.
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Illustration, split screen. Left: a woman with dark hair in a bun, wearing a blue sweater, holds a phone to her ear while holding a mug of coffee, against a cool gray-blue background. Right: a bearded man in a red sweater holds a phone to his ear while seated at a laptop, against a warm gray-blue background. A speech bubble at center reads "Confirm your Keyword," with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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Make customers prove who they are.
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Same two figures on the phone call. Speech bubble at center reads "Sunflower@1987!" with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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Don't ignore questions that the caller can't answer.
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Same two figures on the phone call. Speech bubble at center reads "What's your full name and address?" with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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Don't give them the answers or give them hints to the answers.
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Same two figures on the phone call. Speech bubble at center reads "Jennifer Caldwell, 1234 Sample Road, Anytown, ST 12345," with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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When verifying the instructions to transfer money,
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Illustration of a woman with dark hair in a bun, wearing a red top, holding a smartphone displaying a red circular icon while reaching toward a laptop screen. The laptop displays a red person icon beside the label "Phone," with the number masked by asterisks. Light gray background with abstract building shapes.
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call the customer back at a predetermined telephone number.
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Illustration, split screen. Left: a man wearing glasses and a tie sits at a desk with a large monitor, holding a phone to his ear. Right: a woman in a red top sits at a laptop, holding a phone to her ear. Both are on a phone call; no caption text is shown. Muted blue-gray background with abstract building shapes.
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Multi-factor authentication, like security tokens, are also great tools to verify that you're talking to who you think you're talking to.
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Illustration, close-up profile of a woman with a red earring, holding a smartphone displaying a "Sign In" screen with email and password fields. In the background, a laptop or monitor displays a login form with an "Admin" username field, a masked password field, and a red "Login" button.
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Ensure your employees understand more than just what the security procedures are. Make sure they understand why security procedures exist. Everyone wants to provide good service,
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Illustration, split screen. Left: a man wearing glasses sits at a desk with a monitor, holding a phone to his ear. Right: a bearded man in a red sweater holds a phone to his ear at a laptop. A speech bubble at center reads "Keyword?" with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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but we've seen cases where employees try to make it easy for someone they believe is a customer by giving out verification information when the caller stumbles or forgets information.
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Same two figures on the phone call, with the left side of the screen darkened. Speech bubble at center reads "I forget," with a sound waveform icon beneath it as the figure on the left turns a deep yellow, signifying a threat actor.
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That's exactly what fraudsters count on. Empower your employees to ask more questions. if they have an uneasy feeling about the transaction. Banks can use specific verification tips to help avoid this type of scam. As a general statement,
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Three rectangular portrait illustrations displayed side by side against a muted blue-gray background: a woman with dark hair and a white earring wearing a red top; a woman with blue hair, glasses, and a red earring wearing a black top; and a man with dark hair and glasses wearing a blue top. All three appear neutral and calm.
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Know your customer and their habits.
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The same three portraits, now with concerned expressions. The background behind the third portrait has darkened, and a yellow warning triangle with an exclamation point appears in the upper right corner.
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If something seems suspicious, escalate it.
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Illustration, split screen. Left: a man with glasses, against a dark background, sits at a desk with a monitor, holding a phone to his ear. Right: a bearded man in a red sweater holds a phone to his ear at a laptop, against a lighter background. A speech bubble at center reads "Hi, I need a money transfer," with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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A threat actor has spent time researching their victim. If they get rebuffed when they ask for a money transfer, they usually don't just go away.
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Illustration of the threat actor with glasses, now alone at his desk, holding a phone. His monitor displays a red circular "end call" icon.
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They'll call back to a different branch,
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Illustration, split screen. Left: the same man with glasses, holding a phone to his ear at his desk. Right: a woman with dark hair in a bun, wearing a red top, holds a phone to her ear at a laptop. A speech bubble at center reads "Hi, can I do a money transfer?" with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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or call back on another day to get another customer service rep.
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By escalating the suspicion, the customer service person is alerting their colleagues that someone may be trying to get money out of a customer's account and to be on the lookout for any out-of-the-ordinary requests.
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Same two figures on the phone call. Speech bubble at center reads "That's my home phone number, I can't answer today," with a sound waveform icon beneath it.
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If a caller claims they can't be reached on their normal phone,
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Illustration of a woman with dark hair in a bun, wearing a red top, holding a smartphone displaying a red circular icon while reaching toward a laptop screen showing a red person icon beside "Phone," with the number masked by asterisks. A yellow flag icon appears in a white circle in the upper right.
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call the number listed in their account profile anyway. You may end up speaking with your actual customer.
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Illustration of a bearded man in a red sweater, seen from behind, seated at a desk facing a computer monitor. The monitor displays a blue envelope icon with a red notification badge reading "1." Light gray background with abstract building and window shapes.
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Also, send notifications to customers whenever address or phone number changes are made to their accounts.
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Illustration of a computer monitor displaying the notification "Your Phone Number has been Updated," followed by redacted text lines below. The bearded man in the red sweater is visible at the edge of the frame.
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A concerning new trend we've been seeing lately is when criminals add a fake financial director to a customer's account, they request the bank add the new director as an authorized person to the customer's financial accounts.
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Illustration of the man with glasses viewing a computer monitor displaying a financial dashboard: dollar figures reading "$6,200," "$53,400," and "$272" across the top, with a pie chart, a bar chart, and an upward-trending line graph below. A yellow warning triangle with an exclamation point appears in the upper left corner. Dark background.
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If granted, this gives the criminals the key to the customer's virtual vault.
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Red gradient background.
TEXT: For more information please talk to your Travelers underwriter or independent agent or broker.
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If you have any further questions or want additional information, please talk to your Travelers underwriter or independent agent or broker.
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Travelers logo
TEXT: Criminals don't slow down. Your defenses shouldn't either.
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Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America and its property casualty affiliates. One Tower Square, Hartford, CT 06183.
This material is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It is not designed to be comprehensive and it may not apply to your particular facts and circumstances. Travelers does not warrant that adherence to, or compliance with, any recommendations, best practices, checklists or guidelines will result in a particular outcome. Customers are encouraged to seek advice from their own attorney or professional advisor prior to implementing any recommendations or suggestions provided by Travelers. This material does not amend, or otherwise affect, the provisions or coverages of any insurance policy or bond issued by Travelers. It is not a representation that coverage does or does not exist for any particular claim or loss under any such policy or bond. Coverage depends on the facts and circumstances involved in the claim or loss, all applicable policy or bond provisions, and any applicable law. Availability of coverage referenced in this material can depend on underwriting qualifications and state regulations.
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