Fraud response
Protect your payments
Strong fraud prevention combines internal discipline with the right banking controls. Daily oversight, clear authorization and layered safeguards all play a role in limiting exposure and catching issues early.
Payment controls for checks and ACH
Check fraud often starts small but can quickly lead to costly losses. CoBank can help reduce risk before funds are released.
Positive Pay for checks
Positive Pay helps reduce fraud risk by matching checks presented for payment against information you have authorized. Items that do not match are flagged for review before they are paid, giving you the opportunity to approve or return them. These controls are designed to help detect altered, counterfeit or unauthorized checks before funds leave your account.
ACH payment controls
Electronic payments are efficient, but they also require close oversight. Businesses that originate ACH payments are responsible for monitoring activity and managing risk. Controls such as ACH Positive Pay and ACH Block help identify unauthorized or unexpected ACH debits. These tools work best when paired with internal practices such as defined authorization, dual approval and timely review of account activity.
Operational controls that matter
Strong fraud prevention is not limited to technology. Effective internal controls include:
- Clearly defined payment authority and approval thresholds
- Separation of duties across payment initiation, approval and release
- Daily review of account activity and exception items
- Regular evaluation of who has online access to accounts
Together, these practices reduce the likelihood that fraud goes unnoticed or escalates before it can be stopped.
If you suspect fraud, act immediately
If you notice suspicious activity, unauthorized transactions or signs that your account or systems may have been compromised, take action right away. Prompt reporting improves the likelihood of limiting losses.
What to do first
- Contact CoBank immediately using the information on this page.
- Be prepared to provide details about the suspicious activity.
- Follow the instructions provided by the customer service team.
Other steps to consider
- Notify other financial institutions you work with, as compromised information may be used elsewhere.
- Run a full antivirus scan on all computers used to access company systems or banking sites.
- Review internal controls to identify gaps that may have contributed to the incident.
If an email account may be compromised
- Immediately close or disable the affected email account.
- Notify contacts who may have received fraudulent messages.
- Identify other services where that email address is used for login and change credentials as needed.
How to report fraud or suspicious activity
Account or payment fraud
Includes unauthorized ACH debit transactions; lost or stolen checks, including counterfeits, alterations, and forged or missing endorsements; and lost or stolen account numbers.
- 1-800-255-6190
- customerservice@cobank.com
How to report fraud or suspicious activity
Account or payment fraud
Includes unauthorized ACH debit transactions; lost or stolen checks, including counterfeits, alterations, and forged or missing endorsements; and lost or stolen account numbers.
- 1-800-255-6190
- customerservice@cobank.com
Online and wire fraud
Includes wire fraud; ACH fraud initiated online; unauthorized changes to online banking profiles; and fraudulent bill pay activity.
- 1-800-255-6190
- customerservice@cobank.com
Credit card fraud
Includes suspicious or unauthorized credit card transactions, as well as lost or stolen credit cards.
- 1-888-222-8755
Suspicious emails
Includes emails that appear to be from CoBank or another trusted source and ask you to click a link, open an attachment, or provide personal or account information.
- If you clicked a link, opened an attachment, or provided information, call 1‑800‑255‑6190 immediately.
Get fraud prevention tips by email
Short, practical guidance to help you spot risks and protect your accounts.
A note on online security
CoBank continually evaluates and strengthens the security of its online systems. Secure authentication, encrypted connections, session timeouts and secure messaging help safeguard information when you interact with us online.
CoBank will never ask a second user to log in on a specific computer to authenticate or unlock another user’s account.