Avoiding Fraud in a Changing Work Environment
Monique-Renee Canty, AAP, APRP - Professional Services Specialist, TCHPA
In times of uncertainty, natural disasters, and deviations from everyday processing activities, fraudsters often look for opportunities to take advantage of vulnerabilities. If the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your processes or presented challenges for your staff or account holders, be on the lookout.
Beware the Money Mule
With so many out of work and looking for ways to make extra money, this is a great time to remind account holders to avoid scammers who offer too-good-to-be-true work from home (WFH) opportunities. Have you communicated with your elderly and disabled account holders to remind them that Social Security, Treasury and other Government entities will never call and ask them for personal or financial information or threaten to not pay their benefits? Is your staff been trained to identify and handle a money mule situation?
Network and Infrastructure Vulnerabilities
Do you have the proper controls in place to ensure your systems and networks remain secure at all times; even with a reduction in staffing or staff working from home? Are there restrictions in place that prevent unauthorized or personal web activity? Do your policies, procedures and training address data security in a WFH environment? The same security requirements that are applicable in the office should apply at home too. As the working landscape changes, you staff may be distracted, and human error may be more prevalent, making dual controls and file limits more important than ever.
Updating Your Business Continuity Plan (BCP)
Do your payment risk matrixes and BCP plans address and assess the risks posed by a pandemic? Now is a great time to update your BCP to reflect current events and circumstances and how they impacted your processing environment.
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