News

Survey: 73 percent of US companies targeted by fraudsters in 2015

Even without a substantial financial loss, payments fraud costs American organizations resources in the form of security, cyber insurance and training, the Association for Financial Professionals says.

April 1, 2016

Nearly three-quarters of American businesses were targeted for payments fraud in 2015, according to new research from the Association for Financial Professionals.

The study, "2016 Payments Fraud and Control Survey," found that 73 percent of all U.S. firms experienced a payments fraud attack last year. This represents an increase of 62 percent between 2014 and 2015.

Even without a substantial financial loss, payments fraud costs American organizations resources in the form of security, cyber insurance and training.

"Let there be no doubt: Payments fraud is an enormous challenge for all organizations," said Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP. "One of the toughest payments fraud challenges we are seeing is [business email compromise] scams, which are growing increasingly sophisticated and successfully infiltrating email systems at numerous organizations."

In 2015, 64 percent of organizations were exposed to BEC scams. Though checks continue to be the payment method most targeted by fraudsters, in 2015, 48 percent of organizations were exposed to wire fraud, an increase from 27 percent in 2014 and 14 percent in 2013.

"Each year, payments and cyber fraud schemes grow in sophistication and knowing how to recognize and manage these threats is critical to protecting your organization," said Nancy McDonnell, a J.P. Morgan managing director and treasury executive. "Investing in the appropriate data protection tools, infrastructure controls and employee education is essential for all businesses."

Though EMV chip cards can alleviate at least some payments fraud, 90 percent of respondents said they believe that criminals will shift their focus to other payment methods.

The 2016 survey was underwritten by J.P. Morgan, and included responses from 627 treasury and finance professionals. Full results are available online.