Spotting Fraud Before It’s Too Late

Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated, finding new ways to exploit businesses and individuals alike. One recent incident at Citizens National Bank highlights how deceptive these schemes can be and demonstrates the importance of vigilance and multi-channel communication in combating fraud.

Andy Knippen, SVP IT at Citizens National Bank, explains. “This situation involved a fraudster intercepting a real email that included a bank employee’s name and signature.  This fraudster registered a domain name cnbohios.com (notice the s at the end) 2 days before this incident.  They then created an email address under that fraudulent domain name as our employee and used the same signature.”  With this fake account, they tried to have funds wired to the fraudster’s account. “At first glance, the emails looked legitimate, but thankfully someone picked up the phone and questioned the request,” states Knippen. 

This case serves as a critical reminder to always scrutinize email communications and verify suspicious requests through alternate channels. Small details like a subtle change in an email domain can be the difference between thwarting fraud and suffering a financial loss. Stay alert, and if something doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts, and don’t hesitate to double-check.