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Fraud Prevention for Business

At Sterling Savings Bank your security is our top priority so we are providing the following tips on how to help protect your company from online fraud.

Protect Your Accounts:

• Initiate outbound ACH and wire transfer payments under dual control, with a transaction originator and a separate transaction authorizer
• Set appropriate daily limits for wire transfers and ACH batches appropriate for your business
• Consider setting appropriate ACH filters and blocks to protect your accounts from possible fraudulent inbound transactions
• Reconcile all banking transactions on a daily basis. Alerts can also provide additional level of security and awareness for online banking users. Alert notices can be received by email, phone, fax or text message and are available for ACH/Wire approval notice, for secondary approval, balance thresholds, incoming and outgoing wire transfer notices and positive pay exception items.

• If possible, in particular for high value or large numbers of online transactions, carry out all online banking activities from a stand-alone and completely locked down computer system from which email and web browsing are not possible
• Be suspicious of any email claiming to be from Sterling Savings Bank, another financial institution, government department or other agency requesting account information, account verification or banking access credentials such as usernames, passwords, PIN codes and similar information. Opening file attachments or clicking on web links in suspicious emails could expose your computer system to malicious code that could hijack your system.
• Install a dedicated, actively managed firewall. A firewall limits the potential for unauthorized access to a network and computers
• Create a strong password with at least 10 characters that include a combination of mixed case letters, numbers and special characters such as “!”, “@”, “#”, “$”, “%”, “&”, “*”, “(“, “+”, “=”, “?”, and/or “;”
• Prohibit the use of "shared" usernames and passwords for online banking systems
• Use a different password for each website that is accessed
• Change your password(s)/pass-phrases every three months and select one that is hard to guess
• Never share username and password information for online services with third-party providers
• Limit administrative rights on users' workstations to help prevent the inadvertent downloading of malware or other viruses
• Ensure your computer is protected with current anti-virus; desktop firewall and anti-spyware programs
• Ensure computers are patched regularly particularly operating system and key application security patches
• Clear browser cache before starting an online banking session in order to eliminate copies of web pages that have been stored on the hard drive.
• Verify use of a secure session (https not http) in the browser for all online banking
• Avoid using an automatic login features that save usernames and passwords for online banking
• Never leave a computer unattended while using any online banking or investing service
• Never access bank, brokerage or other financial services information at Internet cafes, public libraries, etc.
• Immediately escalate any suspicious transactions to Sterling Savings Bank or any other financial institutions involved, particularly for ACH or wire transfers. There is a limited recovery window for these transactions and immediate escalation may assist us in preventing further losses to your company.

1. Cease all activity from computer systems that may be compromised. Unplug the Ethernet or cable modem connections to isolate the system from remote access.
2. Immediately report the fraud to your local Sterling branch or call us at 1-800-650-7141.
3. Contact your local police department.
4. Report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center.
5. Have your company’s network and systems reviewed by a qualified computer forensic/information security professional.