The latest Fraud the Facts report by banking and finance industry group UK Finance has warned that businesses lose £93m a year to invoice scams and four in 10 businesses are unaware of the risks.
ATG has reported on a number of occasions when art galleries and dealers have been targeted by cyber fraudsters and how businesses can protect themselves from email invoice scams.
The report revealed that in 2018 there were 3280 invoice scam cases recorded which averaged a loss of more than £28,000 per case.
Katy Worobec, managing director of economic crime at UK Finance, said: “Invoice fraud could happen to businesses of all sizes. It’s vital that all employees are trained to identify potentially fraudulent transactions. The gangs behind this type of fraud are increasingly sophisticated and will often get hold of details that allow them to pose convincingly as regular suppliers.”
UK Finance, which represents more than 250 firms across the banking and finance industry, has also published ‘Take Five to Stop Fraud’ which includes the following advice:
- A genuine bank or organisation will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, full password or to move money to another account.
- Don’t be tricked into giving a fraudster access to your personal or financial details. Never automatically click on a link in an unexpected email or text.
- Always question uninvited approaches in case it is a scam. Instead, contact the company directly using a known email or phone number.
To find out more about Take Five visit takefive-stopfraud.org.uk
