百春链

Southern District Police are warning business owners and payroll operators to be wary, after several reports of scammers attempting to fraudulently gain access to employees’ bank accounts.?
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The scammers, who are usually operating from an overseas IP address, create a false email address in the name of an employee, and then email that employee’s employer/payroll department requesting a change of bank account - and, to make it more realistic, this is very often another New Zealand bank account and part of another scam.? ?
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If successful, the scammer then gets paid the employee’s salary.?
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To protect yourself and your employees from this type of scam, ensure that you verify by phone or in person any request to change an employee’s bank account details.?
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Southern District Police have also seen recent instances of another scam where the scammers intercept customer invoices sent by businesses via email. The scammers create a false business email account - very similar to the genuine one - then advise the customer that bank account details for payment have changed, thereby pocketing the customer’s payment.?
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To protect yourself from this type of scam, ask your customers to check with you first by phone or in person if they ever receive an invoice with a new payment bank account number.?
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If a customer has made payment to a fraudulent bank account, advise them to contact their bank immediately and report it, making sure the matter is escalated to the bank’s fraud team.?
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For more information on how to recognise, avoid and take action against scams, have a look at Consumer Protection’s Consumer Protection's Scamwatch webpages .?
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ENDS
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Issued by Police Media Centre.?