Authors: Maria Line, Head of Customer Engagement, Portfolio Management & Commercial Card
Chris Giese, Managing Director of Payment Advisors
Jon Kinney, Director of Fraud Analytics
Cassie Wistrom, Senior Analyst of Fraud Analytics

Payment fraud is on the rise, and businesses are paying the price. According to the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report for 2025, 79% of businesses experienced actual or attempted fraud in 2024.

To mitigate risk, it’s crucial to understand the impact of fraud and the practical steps businesses can take to protect themselves.

How Fraud Impacts Businesses

Fraud incidents don’t just result in financial losses, they trigger a cascade of challenges:

• Increased operational costs: Recovery often costs more than prevention. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report found that the average cost of a data breach at larger businesses reached $4.45 million in 2023.
• Customer churn: Fraud can erode trust and damage client relationships, leading to lost business and declining sales.
• Lost revenue: In 2024, businesses lost an estimated 6.5% of revenue to fraud, threatening financial stability and the ability to invest in future growth.
• Reputational damage: Fraud can cause lasting harm to a business’s public image, particularly if incidents receive media coverage.

Given the detrimental impacts businesses face when fraudsters strike, prevention and mitigation efforts should be a top priority. Here are some steps you can take to keep your business safe.

Partner With Your Bank to Reduce Check Fraud

Scammers are becoming increasingly more sophisticated when it comes to check fraud. With 63% of businesses reporting attacks on check payments in 2024,¹ your business should take advantage of every tool available to prevent attacks.

Fortunately, several bank services offer a frontline defense against check fraud, giving you the ability to stop suspicious activity before funds are released.

• Check Positive Pay: Your bank compares the checks it receives to a list of authorized transactions your business provides. If a check doesn’t match, payment is withheld, and your company is notified.
• Reverse Positive Pay: Your bank sends you a daily list of checks presented for payment. You have 24 hours to approve or deny them.
• Check Block: This service blocks all checks presented and is valuable for accounts that are used only for ACH transactions.

Protect ACH Payments

According to the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud Report, the number of ACH fraud cases resulting from business email compromise (BEC) scams rose in 2024 to impact 38% of business respondents. These findings indicate that businesses need to safeguard these transactions, even though electronic payments remain safer than checks.

• ACH Positive Pay: Similar to Check Positive Pay, ACH Positive Pay matches incoming ACH transactions with an approved list supplied by your business. If a transaction is not on the list, it’s sent to you for approval or denial.
• ACH Debit Block: This service blocks all ACH transactions from clearing, which is helpful for accounts that never use ACH transactions.

With customizable alerts, ACH Positive Pay creates an early warning system for fraud detection, while ACH block enhances security efforts, giving your business more control over fraud.

Leverage Virtual Cards to Minimize Exposure

Virtual cards offer powerful protection against payment fraud. Unlike traditional physical cards, virtual cards are issued with a unique, temporary card number for each transaction or vendor, reducing the risk of exposure.

According to AFP, virtual card fraud remains significantly lower than fraud tied to traditional payment methods. In 2024, just 5% of businesses reported experiencing fraud involving virtual cards, far below the rates for checks and ACH payments. Most virtual card fraud results from social engineering tactics like Business Email Compromise, where employees are tricked into issuing payments to fraudulent vendors, or from misuse, such as faxing card details or sharing them verbally outside secure systems.

Virtual cards aren’t necessarily a replacement for traditional commercial card programs, but rather a complementary solution. While traditional cards support day-to-day business purchases, virtual cards are ideal for accounts payable and supplier payments that require added security and transaction control. Unlike a traditional credit card, virtual cards are leveraged digitally, allowing businesses to make payments without exposing their actual card details.

Businesses Must Remain Vigilant to Fight Fraud

Technology alone can’t eliminate fraud risk. Constant vigilance and smart internal practices are also important.

Every business should:

• Keep employee and vendor information current
• Conduct regular “data wellness checks” across systems
• Maintain internal policies for issuing and managing payment methods, such as Dual Control and Multi-Factor Authentication.
• Train employees on how to spot and report fraud

By implementing these protocols and maintaining tight controls, your business will be better prepared to prevent fraud and respond quickly when issues arise.

Download our Payment Fraud Prevention Best Practices Guide to learn more about prevention strategies tailored for businesses.

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