Research by the Association of Financial Professionals (AFP) has found that almost three-quarters of companies in the US are targeted by criminals for payments fraud.

The 2016 Payments Fraud and Control Survey, backed by JP Morgan, found that 73 per cent of US companies experienced payments fraud, based on 2015 data.

According to the AFP, this is the largest percentage since 2009. It found that 64 per cent of companies were exposed to business email compromise (Bec) scams and even those that were not financially impacted by payments fraud directly, still had costs in the form of security, cyber insurance and training.

Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of the AFP, said: “One of the toughest payments fraud challenges we are seeing is Bec scams, which are growing increasingly sophisticated and successfully infiltrating email systems at numerous organizations.”

Cheques are the most-targeted payment method by fraudsters but almost half – 48 per cent – of organisations were exposed to wire fraud last year. This is an increase from 27 per cent in 2014 and 14 per cent in 2013.

The survey was based on responses from 627 treasury and finance professionals. The full results are available here.

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CTMfile Take: Companies all over the world face a serious threat from criminals targeting payments processes. Treasurers should ensure their company is investing in the right security and data protection tools and systems.