PORTFOLIO How to keep ACH fraud away from your bank Security Outsmarting the cybercriminals starts with understanding their ever-evolving approach to fraud. By Colleen Morrison ayments fraud reached a record high in 2017. While the ACH Network continues to boast the lowest attempted and confirmed fraud of any payments system, it, too, has experienced an uptick. " What we've seen [in fraud] is an increase, " indicates Peter Hohenstein, senior director, NACHA-The Electronic Payments Associa30 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q October 2018 P tion, the steward of the ACH Network. " When you talk about ACH risk threats, the threats are not really in the ACH Network. It's those input points in front of the network that tend to be compromised. " These " point-of-entry " attacks drive growth in ACH fraud. With increasingly sophisticated threats, how can community banks protect themselves? It starts with understanding a fraudster's approach. Today's top ACH fraud threats have one thing in common: Each relies on the manipulation of individuals. The three main types of ACH fraud Quick stat 78% Percentage of U.S. organizations that were targets of payments fraud in 2017