How to recognise Invoice fraud
At Viva Wallet, your safety is always our top priority and therefore, we feel obliged to instruct you on the new types of online fraud currently used by scammers. We would like you to carefully go through the instructions below, in order to protect yourself from cybercriminals, who may try to defraud you.
How does it work?
Usually, business is approached by somebody pretending to represent a supplier/service provider/creditor. The fraudsters may use a combination of approaches to contact you, such as telephone, letter, email, etc. Then, the fraudster requests that the bank details for a payment (i.e., bank account payee details) of future invoices be changed. The new account suggested is controlled by the fraudster. In some cases, they may demand the repetition of an alleged payment, on the premise that the previous one failed.
As a business:
- Ensure that employees are informed and aware of this type of fraud and how to avoid it.
- Implement a procedure to verify the legitimacy of payment requests.
- Instruct staff responsible for paying invoices to always check them for any irregularities.
- Ensure your staff limit what they share about the company on their social media.
As an employee:
- Do not use the contact details on the letter/fax/email requesting the change. Use those from previous correspondence instead.
- Set up designated Single Points of Contact with companies to whom you make regular payments.
- For payments over a certain threshold, set up a procedure to confirm the correct bank account and recipient (e.g., a meeting with the company).
- When an invoice is paid, send an email to inform the recipient. Include the beneficiary bank name and the last four digits of the account to ensure security.
- Restrict information that you share about your employer on social media.
- Report actual or attempted fraud to the authorities.
