A
Are there any new trends
businesses/organisations
should be aware of when it
comes to fraud?
According to Action Fraud, the UK’s
central reporting centre for fraud and
cybercrime, one of the most common
frauds businesses experience is
payment diversion fraud.
This normally happens when a
business or their supplier’s emails are
compromised and can affect many
types of businesses and organisations,
including conveyancing and solicitors’
firms, particularly during the completion
stage on properties. Other ways in
which this can happen is through
spoofed emails which claim to be from
a CEO. These are often addressed
to the financial officer and ask for an
urgent transfer.
To prevent this, businesses should
ensure they have a means to query
any change requests or spontaneous
payments. Action Fraud advises
solicitors that any payment instructions
should come by letter rather than email
and that secure platforms are used to
exchange correspondence.
Another type of fraud frequently
reported to Action Fraud by businesses
is phishing. Fraudsters will pose as
well-known companies in order to
trick businesses into parting with
information and money. To prevent this
from happening, employees should
check the source of their emails before
passing on data which may lead to
fraud. Businesses need to be aware that
phishing emails, calls and texts can also
affect their customers, so that they c