Bora: Hello, this is CoBank's Fraud Wise, helping you avoid becoming a victim of fraud. We know that fraud is becoming more and more prolific, so we’ve dedicated this episode to provide you with the resources and best practices to find and report fraud. I am Bora Manzanares, Financial Crimes Manager. With me today, is Jamie Fiedor, Senior Financial Crimes Specialist and we’re both with CoBank.
Jamie: Thanks, Bora. Hi everyone! Thank you for your time today. One of the most important ways to prevent a fraud from continuing is to report the incident to the police or the FBI. This helps stop the current perpetrators and helps prevent future crimes. For example, if one of our customers is the victim of social engineering or wire fraud, we might see this as an issue contained within our own organization. However, if everyone that experiences this type of fraud reports it, the FBI can get a bird’s eye view and connect our issue with similar complaints from other institutions. So when you report fraud, you’re giving the authorities valuable information to help them connect the dots and eventually capture the fraudsters.
Bora: And capturing the fraudsters will help reduce fraud in the future. What is the best way to make a report to the police or FBI when you have detected confirmed fraud?
Jamie: The Internet Crime Complaint Center – or IC3 – is the best place to report fraud. The mission of IC3 is to provide the public with a reliable and convenient way to submit information to the FBI. They have alliances with other law enforcement agencies and industry partners to help with investigations and to make information on scams is available to the public. You can easily start a report on the website ic3-dot-gov.
Bora: Reporting fraud to law enforcement is the best way you can help stop fraud scams. This also protects your business by logging a formal complaint with law enforcement for a financial crime committed against your company. Today we also want to provide you with some resources to help you identify and prevent fraud scams in the first place.
Jamie: Since you’re already listening to CoBank’s Fraud Wise, you’re taking the first step. You can access all of our podcasts and other important information in the CoBank Fraud and Security Center located at CoBank-dot-com-slash-security.
Bora: Another great resource is FTC-dot-gov, the online site for The Federal Trade Commission. There’s a wealth of information on the site, including tips and advice in FTC’s Business Center to help you understand the latest in fraud trends and consumer protection.
Jamie: We also suggest Fraud-dot-org and SBA-dot-gov to learn more about common cyber threats to better understand where your business is vulnerable. It shows you what steps to take to improve your cybersecurity, and even file a claim if necessary.
Bora: This has been CoBank’s Fraud Wise helping you protect against fraud. For more information about these and other types of fraud, visit cobank.com/security.