”2023 was a tough year,” says Alejandro Muñoz, Head of Treasury Operations & Payment Factory at Würth Finance. His mission: to protect the companies in the Würth Group from fraud in payment transactions and thus from financial loss.
A difficult task, because fraud attempts are not only becoming more frequent, they are also increasingly sophisticated. Würth Finance, however, has the necessary expertise to fend off attacks.
Alejandro, how does a fraud attempt work?
In the world of digital fraud, a typical attack begins with a targeted search for sensitive or personal information. After this search, the fraudster uses the information to disguise themselves as a trustworthy counterparty. They try to trick employees into disclosing sensitive information or granting them access to protected systems. Fraudsters often pose as suppliers and attempt to get a bank account switched to a fraudulent account. The attempts are becoming increasingly sophisticated and professional.
How do you usually prevent fraud?
Fraud prevention is based on a comprehensive security strategy. In addition to sophisticated technical solutions, the real-time monitoring of networks and the use of firewalls and security software, comprehensive employee training to raise awareness is a particularly important measure. We have strictly defined processes and can therefore identify traps that have been set. We then train the accountants concerned – in a very practical way. A combination of cyber security and employee awareness is therefore the key to successful fraud prevention.
How does this actually take place?
A number of e-training courses are mandatory for new employees throughout the Group. In these, the requirements, structures and rules that apply to everyone are communicated. We have to counter ever more sophisticated attempts at fraud. An example is CEO fraud: employees receive a call from a person claiming to be a member of the Group’s Central Management Board. That gets the pulse racing ... AI is also used to mask the person’s voice and a telephone number from head office in Germany is displayed. In this case you can no longer rely on what you hear and see.
That must worry you...
The rapid growth in cyber crime really does give me a headache. There are people who no longer have a normal job, instead they work as fraudsters or cyber criminals. Our walls may be high, but we can never rely solely on them. We invest heavily in prevention to minimise the risk of falling victim to a hacker attack or attempted fraud. Fortunately, no material damage has been caused so far.
"A combination of cyber security and employee awareness is the key to successful fraud prevention."
Alejandro Muñoz, Head of Treasury Operations & Payment Factory at Würth Finance
Looking into the future, what happens next?
In October 2023, we received the green light for our latest strategic project to revolutionise payment transactions. A real game changer for us!
Why a game changer?
We have reached the limits of our existing tools. From summer 2024, we will be introducing a new payment platform that will enable us to manage all the payment transaction processes of the local units through the secure processes and channels at Würth Finance. Thanks to our centralised fraud prevention functions, partly assisted by AI, we can increase security even further and ward off fraud attempts more effectively and comprehensively.
