audio at link, appx 7.5 minutes
9/15/15 When Cyber Fraud Hits Businesses, Banks May Not Offer Protection
Cyberthieves steal hundreds of millions of dollars a year from the bank accounts of U.S. businesses. And many business owners are surprised to find out their bank is not obliged to make them whole.
Dr. David Krier's Volunteer Voyages is one of the victims. Krier says he lost over $14,000 through fraudulent withdrawals from his business account, and he says his bank "refused to cover any of my losses."
Individuals are pretty well protected when it comes to fraudulent transfers from their bank accounts. Regulation E of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act requires banks to bear the burden in most circumstances. That's not the case for small businesses, even if they're owned by a single person, like Volunteer Voyages.
Krier's company, in Wilsonville, Ore., leads volunteer trips to developing countries for humanitarian projects. After he returned from a trip to Peru in 2013, his bookkeeper told him his bank account was overdrawn. Krier says he told her, "Well, that has to be nonsense because there's thousands of dollars in there."
It turned out a cyber crook had commandeered the debit card he used to cover the costs of foreign trips. Krier expected that his bank would reimburse him.
At first, he says, the staff at the local bank said, "Not a problem." But later, Krier says, that bank told him, "It's a business account, so you're out of luck."
lots more...
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/09/15/440252972/when-cyber-fraud-hits-businesses-banks-may-not-offer-protection
= new reply since forum marked as read