Fraud prevention is not a one-time task—it is an everyday habit that helps protect your cash flow, your reputation, and your peace of mind.

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Business fraud can happen to businesses of any size, and today’s scams are becoming more convincing. From altered checks and unauthorized ACH transactions to fake invoices and wire transfer requests, criminals often look for one weak spot in a company’s process. The good news is that a few consistent safeguards can make your business much harder to target.

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Keep close tabs on your accounts

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One of the most effective fraud-prevention habits is also one of the simplest: monitor your business accounts frequently. Review online banking activity, daily balances, deposits, withdrawals, checks clearing your account, ACH debits, card activity, and wire transfers. The sooner you notice something unusual, the faster you can contact your financial institution and respond.

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Use Positive Pay for an added layer of protection

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If your business writes checks or is concerned about unauthorized ACH activity, ask Bank of Brodhead about Positive Pay. Positive Pay is a fraud-prevention service that helps compare checks or electronic transactions presented for payment against the information your business has authorized. When something does not match, it can be flagged for review before it clears.

This extra checkpoint can help protect against altered checks, counterfeit checks, and unauthorized transactions. Just as important, it gives your business a more active role in deciding what should and should not be paid from your account.

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Verify wire transfers before sending money

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Wire fraud is especially serious because funds can move quickly and may be difficult to recover. Before sending a wire, always confirm the instructions verbally with a trusted

contact using a phone number you already know—not a number provided in the email request. If the request involves new wiring instructions, an urgent deadline, a vendor payment change, or a large dollar amount, slow down and verify.

Fraudsters often impersonate vendors, executives, title companies, or customers and may use email addresses that look nearly identical to the real thing. A quick phone call can prevent a costly mistake.

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Build fraud prevention into your daily routine

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· Use dual approval for payments. Require a second person to review and approve wires, ACH files, or large vendor payments.

· Separate duties. Avoid giving one employee full control over creating vendors, approving payments, and reconciling accounts.

· Confirm vendor changes. If a vendor asks to update bank account information, call a known contact at a verified phone number before making the change.

· Protect login credentials. Use strong passwords, do not share usernames, and enable multifactor authentication when available.

· Watch for email red flags. Be cautious of urgent requests, unexpected attachments, unusual payment instructions, misspellings, or slight changes in email addresses.

· Secure paper checks. Store check stock in a locked location, limit who can access it, and review cleared check images when possible.

· Train employees. Make sure staff know how fraud attempts commonly appear and who to contact when something does not feel right.

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When in doubt, pause and ask

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Fraud prevention works best when your team feels empowered to stop, question, and verify. If something seems unusual, do not feel pressured to act immediately. Pause, review the request, confirm the details, and contact your bank if you need guidance.

At Bank of Brodhead, we are here to help local businesses protect what they have worked hard to build. Talk with us about Positive Pay, secure payment practices, and other tools that can help strengthen your fraud prevention plan.

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