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The South African Banking Risk Information Centre has issued a warning to businesses about a payment scam that has resurfaced.
CEO, Kalyani Pillay, says the scam is not new but banks have been reporting a resurgence.
She says the Change of Banking Details scam involves perpetrators pretending to be a supplier who then informs a company about a change in banking details.
Payments are then made into the fraudster's fake bank accounts and to the legitimate supplier.
Pillay says businesses should do some checking when confronted with this type of request.
- Question whether well-known companies would change their banking details without notifying people through more formal channels
- Ensure that you confirm any change of banking details with someone you usually deal with at the organisation before making any changes to beneficiary accounts. When calling the organisation to confirm the changes to banking details, use a number from the telephone directory and not the number on the letterhead or fax, as you will in all likelihood be calling the fraudster.
-Beware of supposedly confirmatory emails from almost identical email addresses, such as .com instead of .co.za, or an address that differs from the genuine one by perhaps 1 letter that can be easily missed.
-Instruct staff with the responsibility for paying invoices to scrutinize invoices for irregularities and escalate your suspicions to a known contact.
-Ensure that your company¡¦s private information is not disclosed to third parties who are not entitled to receive it, or third parties whose identities cannot be rightfully verified.
-Shred your business and suppliers invoices or any communication material that may contain letterheads, as opposed to just discarding it in rubbish bins
