Hertfordshire businesses warned to be vigilant of new scam

Businesses in Hertfordshire are being warned of a new scam after a number of local businesses lost large sums of money.

Hertfordshire Police's Business Watch team, part of the Neighbourhood Watch, is encouraging businesses to be vigilant.

The businesses lost large sums of money after being contacted by a fraudster impersonating a senior manager within the business instructing their staff to change bank details or make a one-off urgent payment for a seemingly plausible reason.

In some cases, the manager’s email had been hacked, so the message came from their genuine account.

This often occurred when the manager was away, making it difficult for the recipient to contact them to confirm that the request was genuine.

Another variation is where businesses have received contact from a fraudster impersonating one of their suppliers informing them they had changed their bank details and requesting they amend their records.

Staff then sent the next payment using the newly provided details. They were later contacted by the genuine supplier chasing payment, and the fraud came to light.

Protect Your Business

- Ensure all staff are aware of this type of fraud and always double check any requests to change financial details and ensure any requests to change details are genuine: try to establish at least two points of contact with regular suppliers to check any issues that arise.

- Always review invoices and emailed payment requests to check for inconsistencies/errors, for example company name or email address spelt wrong.

- Contact senders of larger invoices in advance of making payment to ensure details are correct.

- Consider what information is publicly available about your business - is it really necessary to publish information that may be helpful to fraudsters?

- Never leave invoices unattended in the office or on a desk.

- Ensure your computer systems are secure and that anti-virus software is up to date.

For more information about how to protect your business from crime, click here.