STPS

Why can’t my truck drivers send direct deposit changes to the payroll service?

We have been asked by clients in the past why their drivers can’t send us direct deposit changes. The goal of the trucking company is to cut themselves out as the middleman. We can understand wanting to streamline as much as you can, after all, trucking companies have a lot going on! However, there are several problems with the company cutting itself out of this important payroll step. In this article, we will go over the security and fraud risks as well as some alternative options.

Cutting yourself out of the direct deposit could mean easy payroll fraud.

One of the most common payroll fraud activities is pretending to be someone else. This happens when the fraudster hacks your employee’s email and sends a request to the payroll company to change their direct deposit account. The fraudster will then give the payroll company an account only they have access to. This causes both the employee and the trucking company to lose out on those funds.

Now, you may be asking why the payroll company didn’t see or catch this. The answer to that is the payroll company doesn’t know your employees like you do. You, as the employer, need to be the gatekeeper to prevent this fraud.

Fraud prevention tip: If your employee asks to change their direct deposit via email always call them back, don’t simply reply to the email. The fraudster will have already hacked the email. Be sure you speak to the employee directly. 

What other options do you have to manage direct deposits?

You can use a secure Human Resource Information System or HRIS (We have one built for trucking!) and allow direct deposit changes. We strongly recommend that you require the company administrator for the HRIS to review and approve any changes before they go to the payroll company. Most of our clients turn off the direct deposit change option in the HRIS because the fraud risk is too high. We all see stories of identity theft and don’t want to be a victim of it.

Written by Mike Ritzema

With over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, management, business planning, financial analysis, software engineering, operations, and decision analysis, Mike has the breadth and depth of experience needed to quickly understand entrepreneurs’ businesses and craft the most suitable solutions.

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