A recent webinar sponsored by Socure tackled the lessons learned from a spike in digital lending fraud. The event looked at the digital lending lessons learned from the first wave of PPP loans too.
Attendees included Marc Billanti Sr. Director Sales, Q2 Cloud Lending; Richard Cooney, Fraud Director, Axcess Financial; and Evan Rabinowitz, Head of Business Development, Socure. The event was moderated by Rivka Gewirtz Little SVP of Marketing and Strategy, Socure.
Business Lending Fraud Prevention
Small Business Trends was there to find business lending fraud prevention tips to protect your business.
Protect Your Business
Gewirtz Little began the webinar touching on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
“This was meant to help small businesses with payroll ,” she said. “The long-term goal through the Small Business Administration was to provide some forgiveness on these loans so they are more like grants.”
Unfortunately, they attract fraudsters with the businesses they are designed to help. Here’s how to protect your small business.
Protect Your Identity
Richard Cooney, Fraud Director | Axcess Financial, was clear about a big priority—identity theft.
“Identity is the key,” he said. “You see people using real information and synthetic information as well.”
Tip: Monitoring your business credit is an important way to protect your identity and avoid lending fraud. Here’s a credible way to do that.
Prepare Documents Properly
Marc Billanti, Sr. Director Sales | Q2 Cloud Lending, said digital lending companies like banks look at more than credit ratings.
He explains.
“Have all your paperwork in good order when you go to apply,” he says. Billanti also says it’s better to stick with your current bank rather than look for a new one. That goes for the PPP and other digital money.
In short, having all your paperwork in order moves the process along. That way there’s less chance of anyone intercepting information.
Tip: Never share any banking details over social media.
Protect Business Computers
Hackers are great at getting into business computers. That’s why you need to have an excellent firewall and top flight antivirus software. Employees should change the passwords on business computers every 90 days.
Tip: Back up files often and store them off site.
Watch File Size
Evan Rabinowitz, Head of Business Development | Socure says you should make sure your information is in an easy to read digital format. He suggests PDF. And whether you’re applying for the PPP or another online loan, size matters.
“Make sure it’s not a 50MB file that might get rejected by servers,” he says.
Tip: Consider password-protecting these PDF documents.
Use Secure Domains
Your website is your business card. Billanti says that banks looking to avoid fraudsters in the online world need to rely on different types of information. In many cases they’re digital and not face to face.
Tip: For domains, HTTPS is better than HTTP. With those, the web browser checks security certificates and verifies them. It’s another layer of credibility in the online world.
Image: Depositphotos.com