Rise in Yorkshire businesses falling victim to fraudsters

Yorkshire companies are becoming more at risk of being targeted by ‘confidence fraudsters’, according to EY’s Northern Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services team.

Posing as suppliers, the fraudsters request changes to payment bank account details to divert funds to other fraudulent accounts.

Victoria Spencer, a Director at Ernst & Young, revealed that the firm has seen a significant increase in clients seeking assistance in investigating instances of potential frauds over the last six months.

A number of these cases include the investigating fraudsters who have impersonated a company director, CEO, CFO etc, and ordered an employee of the same company’s finance department to transfer funds relating to a ‘sensitive’ transaction, confidential urgent property transaction or company acquisition to a fraudulent account.

Other cases consist of fraudsters impersonating a supplier and instructing a member of the company’s finance department to change payment bank account details to a fraudulent account.

Victoria believes the rise in number the number of potential fraud cases is due to the amount of information available about businesses online.

She said: “This type of opportunistic fraud, which tries to trick finance employees into sending funds to third party accounts, appears to be on the increase in the North West and Yorkshire,” said Spencer.

“In many of the cases we’ve investigated, there has been a lot of information about the targeted company online. Details of major projects under consideration, background information about key personnel and even digital signatures often provide the tools perpetrators need to effectively pose as a senior individual within a company or a supplier.”

Victoria added: “Businesses in the North need to ensure those with authority to change payment details are vigilant to this type of scam, and look at their processes for payments and invoicing. For example, changes to account details should only ever be made via established, approved individuals at the supplier and company. Any such changes should also be confirmed through two different channels of communication, such as email and phone, and all changes should be followed-up once the payment has gone through.

“Directors in the North West and Yorkshire should also consider whether the benefits of putting certain company details on the internet outweigh the threat of fraudsters using them against the business.”

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →