July 9th, 2025 - Fraud Prevention

Publish Date: July 9th, 2025
 

Community Bank clients are secure in the knowledge that they receive a high level of protection against fraud. Through a comprehensive suite of services, Community Bank offers its clients access to state-of-the-art tools and around-the-clock monitoring that can help stop fraud before it happens.

Every business has unique needs. The Treasury Management division of Community Bank maintains a team of experts who provide tailored support to help keep a client’s finances safe and sound. Based in Washington, Pa., and serving the greater Pittsburgh area, Community Bank is committed to providing local businesses with the same level of sophisticated products and services that major national banks offer.

While Hollywood movies portray financial criminals stealing crypto millions, today’s small businesses face increased risk from “check washing” — criminals steal mail containing a check, erase the name or amount, rewrite the check and cash it. Community Bank’s Treasury Management team offers advice and solutions that can help stop check-washing thieves in their tracks.

“It’s so important to have a fraud prevention product, like Positive Pay, in place,” says Brandie McFarland, Treasury Management Sales Officer and Vice President at Community Bank.

Community Bank's Positive Pay service verifies the legitimacy of checks presented for payment. When you issue a check, you provide the bank with details like the check number, amount, and date. The bank then compares these details with the presented check. If everything matches, the check is processed. If there are discrepancies, the bank alerts you to decide whether to pay or return the check. This service ensures only authorized checks are paid.

The Check Payee Match service adds an extra layer of fraud protection by verifying the payee’s name along with the check number, amount, and date. If there's a mismatch, you can review and decide whether to pay or return the check. This helps prevent altered or washed checks from being processed. Additionally, Teller Positive Pay verifies checks in real-time when presented at branches for payment.

The final layer of protection is Reverse Positive Pay. Through an easy-to-use portal, clients review the daily list of checks presented for payment, choosing to “pay” or “return” each check. It’s an ideal solution for accounts with low check volumes.

Backing this up are Block Services Solutions.  With Debit Block and Check Block, business can choose to prohibit checks or ACH debits from accessing funds in an account.  ACH Positive Pay allows clients to filter all payment requests and ACH Debit/Credit Block helps to keep an account safe from unauthorized transactions.

Community Bank recommends a tailored solution utilizing these various tools to match the needs of each business client.
“Every business is different, and every business has a different process,” says Kevin Gordon, Treasury Management Relationship Manager and Vice President at Community Bank. “We’re here to consult, advise, and help partner with our clients to learn from these situations and our experiences. Our goal is to deliver an exceptional client experience by being proactive and making it simple and easy to use.”

See all of Community Bank’s Fraud Prevention services here. Contact us at [email protected] for more information. Member FDIC.