Alerus Financial Corporation · NASDAQ:ALRS
Alerus Financial — Investor Presentation (May 2026)
40 slides from Alerus Financial's investor presentation, May 2026
Slide 1: Fraud Awareness for Businesses: Trends, Tactics, and Red Flags
FRAUD AWARENESS FOR BUSINESSES TRENDS, TACTICS, AND RED FLAGS May 2026
Slide 2: Agenda
Welcome Current Fraud Trends and Red Flags to Watch For AGENDA • Kim Lazur, Senior Manager, Fraud, Alerus How Fraudsters Steal and Use Your Data, and How to Protect It • Roger Schmitz, VP, Information Security, Alerus Q&A Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 3: Kim Lazur, Senior Manager, Fraud
KIM LAZUR SENIOR MANAGER, FRAUD 38 years at Alerus, 20 years specializing in fraud Leads team of five dedicated fraud specialists, focused on detecting and preventing fraud Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 4: Fraud Monitoring: How a Bank's Fraud Team May Support You
FRAUD MONITORING HOW A BANK’S FRAUD TEAM MAY SUPPORT YOU Advanced fraud monitoring solutions help detect and prevent fraud Alerts throughout the day that help prevent fraud: • Checks • Deposits • Wires • ACH • Suspected online account takeover Personal outreach Fraud team may call your busin
Slide 5: Your Role in Identifying Fraud
FRAUD MONITORING YOUR ROLE IN IDENTIFYING FRAUD Fraud prevention works best when businesses and banks work together. Monitor Account Activity Understanding Fraud Risks Regularly review transactions to detect Staying educated on common schemes unusual unauthorized activity early and like phishing and
Slide 6: Business Email Compromise (BEC)
BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE (BEC) WHAT IS BEC? KEY STATS1 Business email compromise (BEC) is a type of fraud where a criminal uses or takes over $3+ billion email to impersonate a trusted person or losses attributed to BEC in the U.S. business and trick a company into sending in 2025 money or sensit
Slide 7: How BEC Unfolds
Step 1: Phishing or spoofing to gain email access • Phishing/spoofing is a form of social engineering where criminals use authentic-looking but fake emails or messages to steal log-in credentials or redirect users to fake websites. Step 2: Monitor email threads to learn company behavior and identify
Slide 8: Types of Business Email Compromise
BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE TYPES OF BUSINESS EMAIL COMPROMISE Vendor payment Scammer poses as trusted vendor and sends email claiming fraud payment instructions changed. CEO/Executive Scammer impersonates an executive to request urgent payment, impersonation fraud gift cards or sensitive data. Accoun
Slide 9: BEC: Look-Alike Email
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE BEC: LOOK-ALIKE EMAIL Scenario: Machinery vendor negotiation What happened Criminals hijacked an existing email thread with a legitimate vendor using a look-alike address Fraudulent wiring instructions were provided for a down payment Business sent a $105,000 international w
Slide 10: BEC: Email Account Takeover
REAL EXAMPLE BEC: EMAIL ACCOUNT TAKEOVER Scenario: Account takeover at vendor What happened Criminals compromised a legitimate vendor’s email account Payment change request sent from the trusted vendor contact Business initiated three ACH payments over several weeks How it was detected Clien
Slide 11: Red Flags to Watch For
RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR Urgent or time-sensitive requests involving payments or financial transactions Requests to bypass standard payment procedures or change banking information Unusual timing, tone, or wording that doesn’t match how the sender normally writes Overly formal or unusual langu
Slide 12: Prevention Strategies
PREVENTION STRATEGIES Set up payment verification procedures for all payment instruction changes (callbacks, dual approval) Always verify using a known, trusted phone number Treat email-only payment change requests as high-risk Separate duties so no single employee can create and release pay
Slide 13: Incident Response Plan: If You Suspect BEC
INCIDENT RESPONSE PLAN IF YOU SUSPECT BEC Identify Identify suspicious payments, emails, or account activity immediately Secure compromised email and banking accounts Isolate Reset credentials and suspend further transactions Contact your bank immediately — time is critical Alert Alert internal IT/s
Slide 14: Bank Impersonation Scams
BANK IMPERSONATION SCAMS Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 15: Bank Impersonation Scams
BANK IMPERSONATION SCAMS What it is. Fraudsters pretend to be from your bank, often spoofing a valid bank phone number. The goal. Trick you into sharing sensitive information or to authorize fraudulent transactions. Tactic. • The scammer claims there is a suspicious ACH or wire transaction • Asks fo
Slide 16: Real Example: Phishing Texts
REAL EXAMPLE PHISHING TEXTS Alerus®: Keeping your information secure is our top priority, we're always on the lookout for new ways to protect you, and your account. One of our security measures is the client credential termination. Please follow https:// securealerus.ir72-369.icu/ 914 Reply STOP to
Slide 17: Real Example: Bank Impersonation
REAL EXAMPLE BANK IMPERSONATION Scenario: Fraudster impersonates bank fraud department What happened Fraudster posed as bank’s fraud department using a spoofed phone number Caller claimed there were suspicious transactions and texted a link to fake bank website How the scam succeeded The clien
Slide 18: Red Flags and Prevention Strategies
RED FLAGS AND PREVENTION STRATEGIES BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESSES Your bank will never request your online credentials or one-time passcode. Caller ID can be spoofed and should not be relied upon as proof of authenticity. Avoid clicking on links received via text or email purporting to be from
Slide 19: Check Fraud
CHECK FRAUD
Slide 20: Check Fraud
CHECK FRAUD Check fraud is the illegal use of checks to acquire funds that do not belong to the fraudster. Forged signatures Stolen blank checks Altered checks Counterfeit checks Mail theft High risk — Check fraud can result in significant financial losses for businesses and disrupt operations. Prev
Slide 21: Check Fraud Warning Signs and Prevention
CHECK FRAUD Warning Unexpected check transactions Signs Discrepancies in check amounts or payees Unusual delays in check clearing or returned items Notifications from your bank about suspicious activity Notification from your vendor that payment was not received Prevention Mail checks di
Slide 22: Check Fraud: How to Report an Incident
CHECK FRAUD HOW TO REPORT AN INCIDENT Report check fraud IMMEDIATELY Contact your bank to complete an affidavit of forgery File local police report For mail theft cases: report to U.S. Postal Inspection Service at uspis.gov/report or 877.876.2455 Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 23: Fraud Prevention Tools
FRAUD PREVENTION TOOLS Check Fraud Controls ACH Fraud Controls Positive Pay ACH Positive Pay Bank compares checks presented for payment Blocks unauthorized ACH debits to a list of checks you issued Only approved vendors or transactions are Mismatches are flagged for review before allowed pay
Slide 24: How Positive Pay Prevented Check Fraud and ACH Loss
REAL EXAMPLE HOW POSITIVE PAY PREVENTED CHECK FRAUD AND ACH LOSS Scenario: Check and ACH fraud attempt What happened Account and routing numbers were compromised Fraudsters created counterfeit checks and attempted six ACH debits Total attempted fraud exceeded $189,000 What was detected Four
Slide 25: Roger Schmitz, VP of Information Security
ROGER SCHMITZ VICE PRESIDENT OF INFORMATION SECURITY, ALERUS • 30 years at Alerus, specializing in information technology • Leads team of four focused on information security • Cybersecurity management • Strategic security oversight • Threat detection and response • Incident management • Security po
Slide 26: How Fraudsters Steal and Use Your Data, and How to Protect It
HOW FRAUDSTERS STEAL AND USE YOUR DATA, AND HOW TO PROTECT IT Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 27: The World We Live In Today
THE WORLD WE LIVE IN TODAY CYBERCRIME LANDSCAPE AND STATISTICS Cybercrime is industrialized and Cybersecurity teams are understaffed and accelerating. Threat actors now operate undertrained. Many teams lack sufficient with automation, AI, and commoditized personnel, and few companies train non-
Slide 28: The Hunt: How Fraudsters Gain Information
THE HUNT HOW FRAUDSTERS GAIN INFORMATION Fraudsters don’t attack blindly. They meticulously gather intelligence from multiple sources to build a detailed profile of their target, making their attacks highly effective and difficult to detect. Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Social Engineering Tactic
Slide 29: Profiling: How Fraudsters Gain Information
PROFILING HOW FRAUDSTERS GAIN INFORMATION Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Social media Company websites Public records News articles and publications Social engineering Phishing/spear phishing – trick victims into revealing sensitive information Pretexting – gain trust to make a fra
Slide 30: PPP Loan Information
PPP LOAN INFORMATION Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 31: PPP Loan Information
PPP LOAN INFORMATION Please see last page for important disclosures.
Slide 32: The Black Market: Where Your Data Goes
THE BLACK MARKET WHERE YOUR DATA GOES Stolen information isn’t just used once; it’s packaged, sold, and traded in a thriving underground economy. A single breach can fuel countless future attacks against your business and employees. Most Traded Data Types The Data Laundering Flow On dark web marketp
Slide 33: The Shield: Building Your Defenses
THE SHIELD BUILDING YOUR DEFENSES Protecting your business requires a multi-layered defense, combining robust technology with well-defined policies, and most importantly, an educated and vigilant workforce. Balancing Technology and People While technology provides the essential tools, your employees
Slide 34: Be Proactive: Technical Controls
BE PROACTIVE TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS TECHNICAL CONTROLS Strong password policies and multi-factor authentication Regular software updates and patch management Endpoint security Network security Data encryption – at rest and in transit Regular backups (test restores) – Immutable (tamper
Slide 35: Be Proactive: Policy and People Controls
BE PROACTIVE TO PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS POLICY AND PEOPLE CONTROLS Employee security awareness training — phishing campaigns, fake links Incident response plan — strategy and procedures for preparing for and recovering from a cybersecurity incident Vendor security management Data minimization
Slide 36: Be Proactive to Protect Yourself
BE PROACTIVE TO PROTECT YOURSELF 1. Strong authentication Use strong passwords or passphrases Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for email, banking, and critical accounts Never reuse passwords across accounts Do not use business credentials on personal sites 2. Keep systems updated A
Slide 37: Be Proactive to Protect Yourself (Continued)
BE PROACTIVE TO PROTECT YOURSELF (CONTINUED) 4. Secure your devices Install reputable antivirus and anti-malware software Enable firewalls on all devices 5. Protect your network Avoid public Wi-Fi for sensitive transactions Use strong passwords for home Wi-Fi Consider a VPN for financial o
Slide 38: Be Proactive to Protect Yourself (Continued)
BE PROACTIVE TO PROTECT YOURSELF (CONTINUED) 7. Enable alerts Set up notifications on banking, email, and other systems to detect suspicious activity 8. Practice cyber hygiene Log out when finished Avoid public computers for sensitive information Don’t overshare on social media 9. Check your
Slide 39: Ransomware: Considerations and Preparation
RANSOMWARE CONSIDERATIONS AND PREPARATION Determine if and what you will pay for your data Considerations What is your data worth? Do you trust fraudsters will provide decryption key or not use your data? If you decide to pay, do you have a crypto account? Do you report it to legal authori
Slide 40: Q&A Thank You for Attending
Q&A THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING! Kim Lazur Roger Schmitz Senior Manager, Fraud Vice President, Information Security [email protected] [email protected] Alerus Financial, N.A. (Alerus), Member FDIC. The information contained herein is general in nature, is provided for informational purposes on