Login / Join
- Font size: Larger Smaller
- Hits: 3504
- 2 Comments
Invoice email scam now targeting Australian businesses
If your suppliers are chasing you for paid invoices or if you are not receiving your instalment payments, then it may be possible that your computer may have been hacked by a syndicate now targeting Australian businesses.
The scam involves scammers pretending to be legitimate suppliers advising changes to payment arrangements. It may not be detected until the business is alerted by complaints from suppliers that payments were not received, says a report from the Australian consumer watchdog, the ACCC.
The agency has received reports from Australian businesses that a scam operating in the northern hemisphere has headed down under. Businesses trading overseas – particularly with companies in Asia – are at higher risk of being ripped off by these scams. The United States and Canadian Better Business Bureau and the Internet Crime Complaints Centre (IC3) have both issued warnings about this business compromise scam.
How these scams work
- Scammers hack into vendor and/or supplier email accounts and obtain information such as customer lists, bank details and previous invoices.
- Your business receives an email, supposedly from a vendor, requesting a wire transfer to a new or different bank account.
- The scammers either disguise their email address or create a new address that looks nearly identical. The emails may be spoofed by adding, removing, or subtly changing characters in the email address which makes it difficult to identify the scammer’s email from a legitimate address.
- The email may look to be from a genuine supplier and often copy a business’s logo and message format. It may also contain links to websites that are convincing fakes of the real company’s homepage or links to the real homepage itself.
- The scam email requests a change to usual billing arrangements and asks you to transfer money to a different account, usually by wire transfer.
- The scam may not be detected until the business is alerted by complaints from legitimate suppliers that they have not received payment.
ACCCs recommendations on how you can protect yourself
- Make yours a ‘fraud-free’ business – effective management procedures can go a long way towards preventing scams. Have a clearly defined process for verifying and paying accounts and invoices.
- Consider a multi-person approval process for transactions over a certain dollar threshold.
- Ensure your staff are aware of this scam and understand how it works so they can identify it, avoid it and report it.
- Double check email addresses - scammers can create a new account which is very close to the real one; if you look closely you can usually spot the fake.
- DO NOT seek verification via email – you may be simply responding to the scammer’s email or scammers may have the capacity to intercept the email.
- If you think a request is suspicious, telephone the business to seek verification of the email’s authenticity.
- DO NOT call any telephone number listed in the email; instead, use contact details that you already have on file for the business, or that you have sourced independently – for example, from a telephone directory.
- DO NOT pay, give out or clarify any information about your business until you have looked into the matter further.
- Check your IT systems for viruses or malware - always keep your computer security up-to-date with anti-virus and anti-spyware software and a good firewall.
Comments
-
Tuesday, 03 March 2015Operating a company is a professional business in Australia as it is everywhere. Those who have access to money will qualify for the criteria. If their campaign with their short courses is successful and the business is successful, Income is generated and the recognition of prior learning business grows. This is needed to be sure that you have a stable and professional partner with their career to get to Australia. The cost of professional advertising is just a small amount of money. Since. Qualifymefast, Qualifymenow, qualifyme.edu.au weasels out most of the deal with their short courses, the stolen money is always more than enough to compensate for their advertising costs. Only in them I see a lot of mysterious stuff that will qualify as paranormal activity with recognition of prior learning going on. They promise a lot with their short courses to have recognition of prior learning and a professional career in Australia. They surely have a career keeping your money, but NOT their promises of developing your professional career to qualify and move your chosen industry in Australia with their short courses for recognition of prior learning. They also offer more short courses for your career and professional development than a fast food restaurant has on their menu. The most difficult task for the candidates is to pass the interview with the Australian embassy, the first requirement to have a career in Australia, without it, all recognition of prior learning is useless. Those professional Qualify Me Bandits will take the money of every guy whether they pass the interview for Australia or not. They only care to be paid for their short courses and recognition of prior learning. It is one of the most difficult yet they took my money even if I failed. WHY THE FUCKING SHIT AM I PAYING FOR A CAREER IN AUSTRALIA WHICH I WILL NEVER HAVE? They cook the main courses for disaster with their recognition of prior learning.
Immigration blog
Operating a company is a professional business in Australia as it is everywhere. Those who have access to money will qualify for the criteria. If their campaign with their short courses is successful and the business is successful, Income is generated and the recognition of prior learning business grows. This is needed to be sure that you have a stable and professional partner with their career to get to Australia. The cost of professional advertising is just a small amount of money. Since. Qualifymefast, Qualifymenow, qualifyme.edu.au weasels out most of the deal with their short courses, the stolen money is always more than enough to compensate for their advertising costs. Only in them I see a lot of mysterious stuff that will qualify as paranormal activity with recognition of prior learning going on. They promise a lot with their short courses to have recognition of prior learning and a professional career in Australia. They surely have a career keeping your money, but NOT their promises of developing your professional career to qualify and move your chosen industry in Australia with their short courses for recognition of prior learning. They also offer more short courses for your career and professional development than a fast food restaurant has on their menu. The most difficult task for the candidates is to pass the interview with the Australian embassy, the first requirement to have a career in Australia, without it, all recognition of prior learning is useless. Those professional Qualify Me Bandits will take the money of every guy whether they pass the interview for Australia or not. They only care to be paid for their short courses and recognition of prior learning. It is one of the most difficult yet they took my money even if I failed. WHY THE FUCKING SHIT AM I PAYING FOR A CAREER IN AUSTRALIA WHICH I WILL NEVER HAVE? They cook the main courses for disaster with their recognition of prior learning.