How to Prevent Wire and ACH Fraud

capeandcoastbk on January 27, 2026

Wire and ACH fraud often doesn’t start with a big red flag. Instead, it begins when fraudsters quietly take over the email account of a trusted vendor, customer, or partner. Once inside, they can see past conversations, invoices, and payment schedules – giving them everything they need to convincingly impersonate a legitimate contact.

Using this access, fraudsters can send emails that look to be true, including asking for a change to payments. They’ll often claim it’s a routine update and press for changes immediately. They might even apologize for the urgency.

This is the critical moment when fraud succeeds or fails.

Any request to change payment details that comes through email should be treated as a warning sign. Even if the email appears to be from a trusted source, do not respond directly to it. Do not click links, reply with questions, or call a phone number listed within the email.

Stop and verify the request using a trusted method, such as calling a known, verified phone number that you already have on file. Confirm the change with a person before taking any action. Remember, no one should be upset that you’ve taken this precaution.

Wire and ACH fraud relies on speed and assumption. Slowing down and verifying payment changes through trusted channels is one of the most effective ways businesses can protect themselves.

What to do if you’ve been scammed:

Stop further damage: Cut off contact with the scammer and secure accounts.

Report it fast: Contact us immediately at 508.568.3400. We’ll help secure your accounts, change your passwords, and guide you through fraud reporting and recovery steps. Plus, contact your local police department to report the scam and see what steps can be taken.

Update passwords: Change any shared passwords and avoid reuse.

For more fraud prevention tips, please visit our security page.

How to Avoid Wire Transfer Fraud

capeandcoastbk on April 6, 2020

Common Wire Transfer Scams

Tips for Consumers

Scammers often combine new technology with old tricks to get people to send money or give out personal information. Here are 5 tips from the FTC to help you stay a step ahead.

  • Spot imposters. Scammers often pretend to be someone you trust, like a government official, a family member, a charity, or a company you do business with. Don’t send money or give out personal information in response to an unexpected request — whether it comes as a text, a phone call, or an email.
  • Don’t pay upfront for a promise. Someone might ask you to pay in advance for things like debt relief, credit and loan offers, mortgage assistance, or a job. They might even say you’ve won a prize, but first you have to pay taxes or fees. If you do, they will probably take the money and disappear.
  • Consider how you pay. Credit cards have significant fraud protection built in, but some payment methods don’t. Wiring money through services like Western Union or MoneyGram is risky because it’s nearly impossible to get your money back. That’s also true for reloadable cards (like MoneyPak or Reloadit) and gift cards (like iTunes or Google Play). Government offices and honest companies won’t require you to use these payment methods.
  • Be skeptical about free trial offers. Some companies use free trials to sign you up for products and bill you every month until you cancel. Before you agree to a free trial, research the company and read the cancellation policy. And always review your monthly statements for charges you don’t recognize.
  • Don’t deposit a check and wire money back. By law, banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. If a check you deposit turns out to be a fake, you’re responsible for repaying the bank.

If you spot a scam, report it at ftc.gov/complaint. Your reports help the FTC and other law enforcement investigate scams and bring crooks to justice.

Tips to Protect Your Business

  • Train employees not to send passwords or sensitive information by email, even if the email seems to come from a manager. Then stick with the program — don’t ever ask for sensitive data from employees by email.
  • Remember that email addresses and websites that look legitimate are easy for scammers to fake. Stop and think about whether it could be a scam before you click. Scammers even can hack into the social media accounts of people you trust and send you messages that appear to be from them. Don’t open attachments or download files from unexpected emails; they may have viruses that can harm your computer.
  • Make sure procedures are clear for approving invoices or expenditures. To reduce the risk of a costly mistake, limit the number of people who are authorized to place orders and pay invoices. Review your procedures to make sure major spending can’t be triggered by an unexpected call, email, or invoice.
  • Pay attention to how someone asks you to pay. Tell your staff to do the same. If you are asked to pay with a wire transfer, reloadable card, or gift card, you can bet it’s a scam.
  • Cyber scammers can trick employees into giving up confidential or sensitive information, such as passwords or bank information. It often starts with a phishing email, social media contact, or a call that seems to come from a trusted source, such as a supervisor or other senior employee, but creates urgency or fear. Scammers tell employees to wire money or provide access to sensitive company information. Other emails may look like routine password update requests or other automated messages but are actually attempts to steal your information. Scammers also can use malware to lock organizations’ files and hold them for ransom.

For more tips on protecting your organization from scams, visit FTC.gov/SmallBusiness.

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