Rise in online/mobile banking leads to a higher fraud risk

According to Aaron Glover, senior analyst for fraud risk management at SunTrust Banks, by making it easier for customers to deposit money and switch from their previous financial institution to a new one, banks may be inadvertently making it easier for fraudsters.

Text messaging and email are increasingly becoming vehicles for phishing scams in which fraudsters send phony messages to bank customers and fool them into providing login credentials or account information. Mobile check deposit is touted for its convenience, but it has also created opportunities for double-dipping in which thieves scan images of checks into one account and cash the physical checks elsewhere.

Fraudsters have become more sophisticated and more knowledgeable when it comes to banks practices and banks, whose technology budgets are stretched thin, sometimes struggle to implement adequate defenses.

However, some banks are coming up with some creative approaches to security, developing programs in which they are setting traps for criminals and hiring people with nontraditional skill sets to be fraud analysts. Others are more focused on educating customers on how to detect scams and to be more vigilant about protecting their information.