The amount of online fraud issues has risen throughout the pandemic period. It is now more important than ever to be vigilant.
Over recent months, we have seen several instances of fraud through our clients, such as:
- Clients having loans taken out in their names
- Emails asking for payment which are from legitimate email addresses
- Phone calls from people claiming to be from the bank and asking for access to bank accounts and funds to be transferred.
After speaking to several bank managers, we understand that banks have put everything they can in place to detect and assist clients in not allowing fraud to take place. It is therefore their view that if fraud still occurs – then banks will not be considering themselves liable to pay the amounts back.
Consequently, we advise clients to have the necessary checks and controls in place to ensure that you do not fall in to the hands of the fraudsters. Such measures include:
- Checks of payments before being made
- Invoices signed by a supervisor / director before payment is made
- Online banking access to be restricted where possible
- Speaking to employees to ensure all emails are legitimate requests for payments, etc
- Ensuring procedures are adhered to and not bypassed in the event of urgency
If you would like to review your current procedures in relation to online banking and payments, please get in touch with our team for further advice on how to implement this. You can contact us here.
Get in touch with Barnett Ravenscroft
If you would like to discuss any of these latest developments in more detail, our team would be delighted to hear from you.
