Employees should be educated on how to recognize and avoid scams such as the hsbc scam. Encourage employees to change their passwords, email addresses and bank account usernames.
Often times fraudsters will overpay you for something you’re selling online and ask you to wire the money back. This type of fraud involves a fake refund scheme.
Check The Recipient Email Address
Fraudsters know that wire transfers are instantaneous and difficult to reverse, making them a preferred payment method for scammers. They can often get their hands on the funds before victims even realize they have been duped. This makes detecting fraudsters early on very important.
The most common method of bank transfer fraud is called “fraud by false order” or “fraud on the president”. Fraudsters pose as a company manager to contact someone from the financial department and request an exceptionary transfer. They will demand money urgently, confidentially, and give a victim a number of a bank account to which the transfer is to be made.
Another way that companies can prevent wire transfer fraud is by providing employees with education and training on what to look out for. You can do this in a number of ways, including through videos, emails, and face-to-face sessions. The training should also include specific examples of how the fraudsters work, so employees can spot them when they occur.
Credit unions who identify suspicious wire transfers should contact the originating banks to request a reversal or recall, and file an Suspicious Activities Report with FinCEN. They should also include a warning in their terms of service that warns about wire transfer fraud, and gives tips on how members can avoid it.
Credit unions should also offer their employees the option to use Interac e-Transfer Autodeposit, which deposits the money into the recipient’s bank account automatically, without the need for them to enter a password. This will significantly reduce the likelihood of a fraudster intercepting a deposit and gaining access to the funds.
Fraudsters continue to target victims over the phone, in text messages, and through email. Although the media has focused on the exploitation of children in online gaming and other types of scams, there are still a lot of people getting hit with fake money transfer fraud. This scam is so common that people should be vigilant and verify the legitimacy of any requests for money or personal information.
Check The Recipient’s Phone Number
Scammers will ask you to send money if they claim to be in trouble. Scammers will use various means to convince you to wire money to them, including claiming to be in jail, needing to pay hospital bills or leave a foreign country. They may also claim that a family member or friend is in danger and ask for your help.
Funds transfer fraud can be a very damaging type of online crime. Fraudsters often set up fake accounts and exercise multiple money laundering techniques. By the time you realize you’ve been spoofed, it’s nearly impossible to recover your funds.
A fraudster can steal phone numbers and email addresses from a company using phishing, ransomware or viruses. This data can then be used to target specific employees via email spoofing and call spoofing. They can also spoof data such as your device configuration, connection type or other data in order to appear as though they are connected from the same network. This can help them gain legitimacy and avoid detection.
Employees are therefore often the victims in fraudulent payment schemes and bank transfer fraud. To prevent this, make sure to check the recipient’s phone number and ask to be sent an MTCN (money transfer control number). Moreover, never send money without confirmation and verification. Check the contact information of the recipient to ensure they’re not using a fake email address or spelling errors, which are common indicators of foreign scammers.
It’s important to educate your team on how to protect themselves from BEC and other scams. Teach them to be suspicious if they receive a request that is out of the ordinary, or if there are changes to past transactions. For example, a large number of payments being made to a supplier or alterations to account details of known payees. Consider implementing alerts to notify employees when new payees are added or large transfers occur.
Check The Recipient Bank Account
Fraudsters are very clever at using wire transfers to steal cash from individuals and companies. They can pretend to be someone you know, such as a family friend, and ask you to send them money to pay off a debt or get them out of trouble. This type is called a friend or family scam and is one of many ways fraudsters target victims.
To commit a fraud involving a bank wire transfer, the perpetrator will need to access your banking information. They will then use this information to transfer money from your account to another. This can be accomplished by using fake websites or communication that appears official and is designed for capturing login details, or by email attachments with unusual extension. Once the fraudulently-attained funds leave your bank, it’s very difficult to get them back.
As a business, you can take steps to protect your customers from this type of fraud by implementing strong password and authentication policies and training your staff to recognize the signs of a fraudulent wire transfer request. It’s a good idea to use third-party services which track transactions and send alerts when customers add a payee or make large payments.
Fraudsters can also get money through phishing or vishing attacks, which trick recipients into sending the money. The fraudsters pose as a trusted source, such as a government agency or reputable vendor, and ask the recipient to send money immediately using payment instructions provided by them. This type of attack is known to target small businesses, municipalities and schools.
