Gardaí in Clare are urging people to be on alert, following a report of economic crime this week.
A man received an email he believed to be from his boss asking him to get €250 each in two separate Apple Gift Cards from Tesco and was subsequently asked to send on the codes.
Clare’s Crime Prevention Officer says fraudsters can change an email address to look like it has come from someone you email regularly.
Sergeant Triona Brooks has this advice.
– Look out for different contact numbers and or a slight change in the email address i.e. .com instead of .ie as these may differ from previous correspondence.
-The first contact may inform you of a change in bank account details but not request payment. This ensures that all future payments are sent to the new account.
How can businesses be more secure against this type of fraud?
-Fraudsters may have found information regarding contracts and suppliers on your company’s own website. You should consider if this information really needs to be on your website for fraudsters to utilise.
-Have a verification process in place before changing saved bank account details of your suppliers or service providers and verify any change by contacting a known contact directly. Do not use the contact details on the letter or email requesting a change to account details as these could be fraudulent.
-Inform employees of this fraud so they are alert to it and can avoid it.
