Local business people should be aware of a scam that is currently doing the rounds. Potential victims are being contacted by fraudsters claiming to be suppliers awaiting payment for goods or services. The fraudsters’ MO is very simple – they provide alternative bank account details, along with a request that all future payments are sent to the new account. These accounts do not belong to genuine suppliers. They are instead accessed by fraudsters, and the money is siphoned off.
To avoid this happening to you, you should carry out an independent check with any ‘supplier’ if you are asked to change the beneficiary bank account details. However, make sure you do NOT use the phone number provided in the request. Instead, you should contact your supplier using details from your own internal records, or from an independent source.
Equally, if you are a supplier and you are due to receive a large payment from a creditor it may be a good idea to contact them to confirm that they have not received any instruction to amend your bank details.
If you DO identify a fraud attempt, you should report the matter to the police immediately.
