• Limit who can initiate and approve payments, and require a second sign-off for large transactions.
  • Turn on multifactor authentication for every online banking login.
  • Verify new or changed vendor information and wire payment instructions before sending funds.
  • Use fraud mitigation services and ACH debit controls to catch fraud before funds clear.
  • Set up account and transaction alerts—such as daily balance updates and notifications for incoming or outgoing payments—to help you spot unusual activity quickly.
  • Reconcile accounts weekly and use treasury management tools to monitor your accounts.

Small business owners may make the mistake of assuming their companies are too small to be a victim of payment fraud. Here's what they get wrong: Fraudsters often go for easy targets with weak controls, and small business owners who juggle everything on their own may be more appealing than large organizations with trained security teams.

In fact, a 2025 Abrigo survey found that 57% of small business owners had experienced fraud, and 85% said they were concerned about it.[1] Yet, only 44% use multifactor authentication (MFA), and 39% have set up transaction alerts.

Meanwhile, another report showed that checks are the most targeted payment method (58%), followed by ACH debits (30%) and wire transfers (25%). Most notably, business email compromise may affect up to 74% of organizations — a reminder that digital safety isn’t just a technical issue, but an ongoing education challenge for staff at every level.[2]

The good news is that reducing risk of payment fraud doesn't require a security specialist. Your bank most likely already offers the payment controls and fraud mitigation services to help protect your account. Applied consistently, they can be a key part of your defense against payment fraud attempts. Let's review the top controls you can implement today.

Set Up Access Permissions and Approvals

Fraudsters often look for easy opportunities to get into an account (e.g., through stolen credentials) and move funds. To tighten access, set role-based permissions to control which employees can initiate or approve payments via wires, ACH, or checks.

Also, require dual approval on payments above a preset threshold. Having a second set of eyes on larger transactions may help catch errors and prevent fraudsters from transferring money using stolen credentials.

Turn on Multifactor Authentication

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a simple safeguard, but it can play a big part in helping reduce risk and preventing hackers from using compromised username/password combos to access your accounts. It adds a second checkpoint, such as a code sent to a phone or authentication app, before a user can log in.

Verify a Request Before Paying a Vendor

Fraudsters can impersonate a vendor, faking urgency and familiarity to deceive business owners or employees, but it's important to slow down instead of reacting right away. Invoice fraud may come as a supplier email asking you to update banking details or a request for same-day payment. Urgency is often used as a tactic to cause employees to overlook the finer details and send money without paying close attention.

Rather than reacting to the pressure, take a pause and call the vendor. Be sure to use a phone number on your records instead of the one listed in the request. Also, confirm new vendors with a documentation check before adding them to your payment system.

Protect Your Funds with Positive Pay and ACH Controls

Bank-level controls may help prevent fraud through checks and ACH transactions, which carry the highest exposure. Some banks may also have a fraud mitigation service, such as PNC's Positive Pay, which verifies checks presented for payment against a list you've submitted. A check is flagged for review if the amount, check number, or payee doesn't match.

Use ACH Debit Authorization solutions to filter transactions you want to post (e.g., payment requests from vetted vendors) and return suspicious requests to the originator. Setting transaction limits can also help reduce risk, and you can edit the rules at any time.

Tighten Wire Transfer Procedures

Wires, once sent, are difficult to reverse. As such, they're attractive to fraudsters. You can, however, add friction to make fraud attempts harder. Requiring verbal confirmation for new or changed wire instructions and applying the same dual-approval rules for larger payments can help minimize risk.

Make Monitoring Part of Your Routine

Ongoing monitoring helps catch fraudulent attempts early. Turn on account alerts for transactions above a specific threshold, new payee additions, and login attempts from unfamiliar devices or locations. Reconcile accounts weekly rather than monthly to spot discrepancies early, which gives you more recovery options.

If one employee handles both payments and reconciliation, separate those duties to remove the risk of a single point of failure. Additionally, implement treasury management tools to centralize monitoring across accounts and AI capabilities that learn your banking patterns to flag unusual patterns quickly.

Continue Educating Staff on Fraud and Cybersecurity Threats

Even the strongest payment controls may be less effective if employees aren’t aware of the latest fraud and cybersecurity risks. Scams can evolve quickly, and tactics that were easy to spot a year ago may look far more convincing today. Regular training—even brief refreshers—may help staff recognize red flags such as unusual payment requests, unexpected login prompts, or changes to vendor information. It may also reinforce good habits like verifying instructions, using secure communication channels, and reporting anything that seems out of place.

By keeping fraud awareness part of your ongoing operations, your team may be better prepared to respond quickly and help protect your business from emerging threats.

Help Protect Your Account With Proper Fraud Prevention Safeguards

The controls discussed here don't require a large budget or dedicated security team. For example, PNC business banking customers can set up many of these security features on their dashboards. By enforcing simple rules, such as who can move money and how to verify wires, and applying them consistently, you may be able to catch fraud attempts before they cause losses.

An experienced business banker can help you incorporate the appropriate controls into your operations. Schedule an appointment to review your current setup and close any potential gaps.