TORONTO, ONTARIO — (Marketwire) — 03/13/13 — In recognition of Fraud Prevention Month, BMO Financial Group advises Canadian business owners to take action year-round to ensure they are protected from data breaches and other forms of online fraud.
“The Internet offers some of the most valuable tools to run a small business. But whether it-s marketing day-to-day communications with vendors, communicating with customers or e-commerce, there-s a risk of online fraud and data security breaches,” said Michael Bonner, Vice President, Commercial Banking, BMO Bank of Montreal.
According to the Government of Canada-s Anti-Fraud Centre, over 16,000 people are identified as victims of fraud every year, accounting for an estimated $54 million in losses. Internet scams, virtually unheard of a decade ago, now cost millions in fraud each year. The Government of Canada estimates incidents of this type of fraud have risen 77 per cent since 2005.
As data security breaches become an increasing concern for businesses and consumers, governments around the world are tightening their fraud regulations. The Canadian government, for instance, has proposed legislation that requires mandatory reporting of security breaches to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
“Fraud is a direct threat to the success of our business customers. At BMO, we want to help business owners with precautions that they can take and provide helpful advice,” Mr. Bonner added.
BMO offers the following tips to help business owners minimize the occurrence of data security breaches:
BMO offers Online Banking for Business platforms to help prevent fraud which provide sophisticated measures to authenticate and protect your transactions.
About BMO Financial Group
Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $542 billion as at January 31, 2013, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.
Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Russell Baker, Toronto
(416) 867-3996
Valerie Doucet, Montreal
(514) 877-8224
Laurie Grant, Vancouver
(604) 665-7596
Internet:
Twitter: @BMOmedia