Aussie Businessmen get Scammed with Payment Diversion Fraud

According to Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC), cyber-thieves are illegally accessing e-mail accounts of companies posing as vendors while getting payments diverted onto one fresh account during one fraudulent campaign striking Aussie businessmen, published businessinsider.com.au during the 4th-week of January 2015.

Officials of ACCC, which is one Commonwealth statutory agency running independently, have cautioned businesses about the e-mail scam providing fake invoices designed for getting payment diversions.

According to ScamWatch of ACCC, scammers in the fraudulent operation pose as genuine vendors pleading that 'payment arrangements' be changed.

After intruding the e-mail accounts of suppliers/vendors, scammers steal details like client lists, earlier bills and bank info. Those businessmen victimized subsequently get an e-mail masquerading as the supplier asking for payments to one separate else fresh bank account.

Moreover, by adding, eliminating alternatively slightly altering characters inside the sender's id, the e-mails maybe disguised that makes recognizing the scammers' electronic mail against any genuine id harder even as they usually replicate the message format and/or logo of a company.

There could as well be web-links to sites, which though phony, appear convincing as they mimic the original business' homepage alternatively web-links leading onto the true top page itself.

Usually scammers' ploy remains undetected till after the true supplier tells the business that payment to any A/C is pending.

The trick played was moderate since it was very subtle, said Dr. Michael Schaper, acting Chairman of ACCC. Smh.com.au reported this, January 22, 2015.

According to Dr. Schaper, it was pretty distinct from the conventional business frauds wherein the unsolicited electronic mail told the recipient that there was one business proposal he could try. The current scam needed slightly more concern.

It spread in other countries too like Belgium and England besides Canada and USA.

Dr. Schaper stated that the scam seemed as migrating south. Hitherto, ACCC had approximately twenty complaints, with approximately one-third informing they suffered losses, a number that was comparatively pretty high, he added.

Conclusively ACCC suggested that companies should validate and pay bills in a lucid manner like getting a large transaction the endorsement of at least two individuals within the organization.

» SPAMfighter News - 2/4/2015