ACH Fraud Protection Tips

According to the latest cyber crime ACH fraud or Automated Clearing House fraud has been experienced by many banks. An ACH transaction is a payment processed via the ACH Network to transfer funds electronically between bank a/c’s using a batch file processing system. Generally it is used for direct deposit of payroll, social security payments and corporate use it for tax payments to IRS (Internal Revenue Service). All the Rules and regulations of the ACH transactions are governed by NACHA (National Automated Clearinghouse Association).

How ACH Fraud Occurs?
ACH fraud or Automated Clearing House fraud can occur quite easily. An individual may require few details to commit this type of fraud, i.e. your checking account number and your bank routing number. These details are utilized to initiate the fraud. He may use your bank account and routing numbers to make payments by making a phone call to the vendor or through web transactions.

ACH Fraud Protection
One of the easiest ways to get protect from ACH fraud is to install ACH Blocks or ACH Filters on your bank a/c. This type of service is provided by the Bank to its clients to monitor incoming ACH activity. By using this tool you can scrutinized all the transactions. Suspicious transactions are presented directly to you. You can also set restrictions for ACH payments which will control of what payments get authorized.

What can you do if you Detect an ACH Transaction Fraud?
If any ACH Fraud is detected in your bank a/c, then you need to notify your bank within 60 days whereas corporate a/c needs to notify the fraud within 2 days. If you report the fraud within the time frame, then you will not be responsible for the fraud. According to NACHA rules the originating bank must pay compensation to the victim and then try to recover the loss from it’s customer.

One of the best way to prevent ACH fraud is to review and reconciliate your bank statement regularly, whereas corporate accounts must be reviewed daily to avoid fraud.