The current crisis has destabilised the entire economy through the simultaneous occurrence of risks that were previously considered independent. It has made companies more vulnerable, particularly to the risk of payment fraud. An escalation in fraud and cybercrime activities has been observed in recent months, as cyber attackers have been able to make use of the weaknesses caused by the current health crisis.The current crisis has destabilised the entire economy through the simultaneous occurrence of risks that were previously considered independent. It has made companies more vulnerable, particularly to the risk of payment fraud. An escalation in fraud and cybercrime activities has been observed in recent months, as cyber attackers have been able to make use of the weaknesses caused by the current health crisis.
Social engineering fraud takes advantage of emergency situations and non-compliance with control processes. The success of a fraudulent urgent payment request by someone pretending to be an executive is often facilitated by stress and workload. At the same time, fraud linked to cyber technological attacks on the tools and systems put in place for remote work that may have a lower security level has also been on the rise. Finally, fraud related to internal threats is based on the lack of control over existing processes, giving fraudsters the opportunity to detect new flaws and overcome the controls in place (modification of files, etc.).
Treasurers, along with heads of IT security and internal audit, are the guarantors of the security of the payment process. The proper implementation and updating of control systems is their only defence against fraudsters. The response strategy is a four-step approach.
Christelle Lecouturier, Partner, PwC
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