Warning after ‘convincing’ scam costs company £20k
A company director is warning other bosses of a sneaky email scam that cost his business almost £20,000.
Tim Hill, who runs Maidstone printing firm Speedscreen, says his accounts department was duped by what appeared to be a genuine instruction from him to make two electronic payments.
It happened while he was away in America, which he believes the fraudsters may have even been aware of after researching his Facebook profile.
He said: “It really is a very simple but convincing con which, like many of these things, is easier to spot in hindsight.
“It works by the scammers getting hold of and mirroring the chief executive or managing director’s email address and details.
“They work on the hope that staff will blindly follow the boss’s instruction and not query it.
“In this case, our accounts clerk did question the second request but got an email straight back which appeared quite personal to her, saying ‘just do it’ and that I would sort the paperwork later.”
Tim, 58, says two payments were instructed to be made over two days and they tried again when he returned. But this time the accounts department was able to speak to him and the scam was discovered.
He said: “I contacted the bank’s fraud department, but they have effectively said there is nothing they can do and the money has gone. Alarmingly, they also told me it was an increasingly common trick, so I am surprised and disappointed they can’t seem to do anything about it.”
Tim admits that in hindsight there were tell-tale signs that could have triggered alarm bells, such as some of the phraseology used and the email address details.
Tim, who has run the company for 30 years and has 18 employees, said: “Our accounts lady is mortified, but I understand how she must have felt when her boss is apparently instructing her to do something.
“To lose almost £20,000 is a big hit on a small company like ours and I want to put this warning out there so others don’t fall foul.”