The Fraud Fight That Never Ends How to keep your customers' financial data safe in an increasingly unsafe environment

Since late 2009, law enforcement officials have been seeing an increase in attacks by fraudsters attempting to target the transaction data of small to midsize companies, stealing everything from business account numbers to customers' credit card information. John Bonora, vice president and compliance officer at Fairfield County Bank in Ridgefield, Conn., works with his customers to employ better safety precautions. In addition to concerns about financial losses, Bonora says, companies should be concerned about potential liability for breaches of customers' data.

"At a minimum, you need to know the basics about your state's laws and what the security expectations are," he says. "What a lot of states are doing now is building laws about safeguarding customer information and including the business' civil liability right in the law."

To keep your company safe, follow the guidelines below, but most important review your financial data at least two or three times each week to look for suspicious activity. Fraudsters move quickly, Bonora says, and the faster you can spot potential fraud, the better chance you have to mitigate the damage.