How Verification Protocols Protect Your Organization from Online Scammers

Imagine it’s your newest hire’s second day, and she’s eager to make a good impression. Her phone buzzes with a text message from someone claiming to be the executive director: “I’m stuck in back-to-back donor meetings but need you to pick up some gift cards for our appreciation event. Can you grab $500 worth from Target? I’ll reimburse you tomorrow.”

Like any new employee, she wants to be helpful, and the request seems reasonable. She heads out during her lunch break and texts photos of the gift card codes as requested. By the time she realizes she’s been scammed, $500 is gone, and she’s facing a choice between paying it back herself or explaining how she fell for one of the most common scams. This scenario plays out regularly at organizations of all sizes and it reveals a harsh truth: 

Technology alone cannot fully protect you and your team from scammers. 

Without the right verification protocols and training, the most sophisticated systems in the world become irrelevant in the face of tactics that use social engineering tactics to commit fraud.

Why technology isn’t enough to prevent fraudulent attacks

Cybersecurity best practices typically focus on protecting systems from unauthorized access. However, no firewall or email filter can stop an attack that never actually touches your technical infrastructure. Social engineering scams flip this approach entirely by convincing authorized users to provide access or money voluntarily. 

Consider the gift card scam above. Your email system can’t intercept this message because it arrives via text. The sender might even use your CEO’s real name, most likely gathered from LinkedIn or your website. Attackers also scrape LinkedIn to target new hires, timing their attacks when people are eager to prove themselves. 

These social engineering requests exploit the normal impulse to be helpful, especially from someone wanting to make a good impression. While technical clues exist — such as a phone number that doesn’t match company records — spotting these details isn’t always easy.

Not even the largest organizations are immune to these attacks. Ferrari was recently targeted by  a scammer using AI to impersonate their CEO’s voice on WhatsApp. In another example, a multinational company in Hong Kong lost $25 million in a social engineering scam after their “CFO” requested a wire transfer. In this case, the employee who was targeted could see and hear their colleague throughout the video call because the attacker used AI deepfakes to replicate the CFO and other senior staff. 

Regardless of your organization’s size, you and your team are also vulnerable to these scams and other security threats by virtue of having an email address and a website. 

Train staff to identify potential scams

Your first line of defense against social engineering attacks comes into play when you or your team receive the initial communication. 

Maybe you receive a message from your “bank” asking to click a link and provide your password. Or maybe you get an email or text from a colleague that just feels off. Mismatched domain names, unusual typos, or unexpected sender addresses reveal fraud attempts before they progress.

However, attackers have become skilled at avoiding obvious mistakes. They’ll insert themselves into existing email conversations, use email addresses that differ by only a single character, or send messages that match someone’s communication style. 

The power of stepping away

Remember that attackers rely on creating a sense of urgency in their victims. If something feels “off” about a communication, taking even a few minutes to disengage — talking to a coworker, switching to a different task, or simply reading the request again — can reset your ability to think critically about what you’re being asked to do.

Training your teams to take an extra moment to evaluate all the details of an unusual request is crucial to derailing social engineering attacks. But as these scams grow more sophisticated, you need an additional layer of protection for your organization.

Implement verification protocols to protect unauthorized access 

Once your team understands how to spot potential scams, your second line of defense comes into play. When your employee is asked to transfer money, provide access, or share sensitive information, the right verification protocols can add a crucial layer of protection — regardless of how convincing an initial request appears.

Even when a scam isn’t immediately recognizable, you can still prevent it by following consistent verification procedures that provide another means of slowing down. The key is creating organizational habits that don’t depend on anyone’s ability to spot technical clues or trust their instincts about whether something feels suspicious.

Why you shouldn’t verify someone’s identity through the same channel

Before we get into specific verification protocols, it’s important to keep in mind that while they are valuable, they lose effectiveness if you use the same communication method as the original request. Scammers can control entire email conversations, phone numbers in messages, and even set up autoresponders posing as the real individual to confirm fraudulent requests in real time.

Instead, reach out to who’s contacting you through a different channel. If a colleague emails requesting access to sensitive systems, ask them about it by sending a fresh email or contacting them through Slack. This simple approach bypasses spoofing and ensures you’re actually communicating with the real person.

Department-specific verification protocols to prevent attacks

Different departments face distinct social engineering risks that require customized prevention approaches.

Finance and administration teams need multi-step verification for all banking changes, transaction approvals above specific amount thresholds, and clear protocols for wire transfers. A $5,000 expenditure might be routine for some organizations and highly unusual for others.

Beyond internal procedures, schedule a meeting with your organization’s bank to discuss their fraud prevention services. Many banks offer “positive pay” services that prevent checks and ACH transfers from processing until you verify them, along with monitoring for unusual payment activity and additional wire transfer verification requirements.

Development teams should establish strict protocols for things like donation refunds. These protocols should prevent processing any refund until the original donation fully clears your bank. A common scam involves someone making a large donation then requesting a refund due to a supposed error, such as claiming they donated $5,000 instead of the intended $500. If you process the refund before the payment clears, your organization will be liable for that amount.

This applies even when someone expresses an urgent financial need, such as claiming they won’t be able to pay rent without a refund. Remember: Any legitimate donor will understand the need to follow verification protocols and wait for payments to clear.

HR departments must require employees to update their own payroll information through direct system access rather than processing changes based on email requests. This prevents both external attackers and internal fraud.

All departments should use access request forms for software privileges and system access rather than informal email approvals. These formal processes create paper trails and verification requirements that bypass social engineering attempts.

How to implement verification protocols

Your organization likely already has the right tools in place for effective verification:

Access requests: If someone needs elevated privileges in your donor database, they can submit the request through whatever system you use for IT support. Your IT ticketing system or help desk platform should support this — no new software required.

Expenditure requests: If your team uses Slack or any other internal messaging platform, a quick message to confirm a request takes seconds and can prevent costly mistakes.

Invoice verification: Accounting platforms like Bill.com include features to check the authenticity of invoices.

For high-stakes requests like wire transfers, verbal confirmation remains the gold standard. Use phone numbers from your existing employee directory or vendor contacts, not numbers provided in the message making the request. 

Building verification into your organization’s culture is crucial

Your leadership plays a critical role in establishing a culture of preventing social engineering scams. When managers take time to double-check requests, encourage questions, and demonstrate that accuracy matters more than speed — they give their teams permission to slow down and verify. Executives should use Slack to confirm unusual requests and demonstrate that everyone needs to pause and authenticate before acting.

Toxic work environments create ideal conditions for social engineering attacks. If your staff feels uncomfortable questioning authority or fears consequences for “bothering” leadership, they’ll be more likely to comply with fraudulent requests rather than risk seeming difficult.

Onboarding requires special attention to verification procedures. Someone starting at your organization doesn’t understand what requests are normal versus suspicious, making them ideal targets. Where possible, you should provide new hires with explicit guidance such as, “We will never ask you to purchase gift cards for an organizational purpose.” Or, if your organization does use gift cards as rewards or incentives, you should outline established protocols for verifying these requests.

Protect your mission through practical preparation

When social engineering attacks succeed, they don’t just steal money—they undermine the trust relationships that make your work possible. Staff training and verification protocols are crucial to giving your teams the resources they need to avoid making a costly mistake.

Just as with many cybersecurity concerns, 100% prevention isn’t possible. But you can reduce your organization’s risk of exposure through consistent practices. Social engineering attacks will continue to evolve in their sophistication, but organizations with the right processes in place will be well-positioned to protect themselves moving forward.