The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is warning small businesses not to fall for an email invoice scam that swindled one small business owner out of $500,000. The consumer watchdog has received around 20 complaints about emailed invoices from scammers posing as legitimate suppliers to a small business.
The acting chair of the ACCC, Michael Schaperb says around seven small businesses have so far been duped by the scam, handing over between $10,000 and $500,000 to the scammers.
He is warning small businesses to closely scrutinise any email invoices requesting payment as the fake invoices in this case may still contain the legitimate supplier’s name and logo, as well as links to the supplier’s website. The only changes will be in the bank account details where the money is to be deposited and possibly in the email address the invoice is being sent. In one of the reported cases, a small business received an invoice from what appeared to be one of its regular suppliers. But in between the supplier issuing the invoice and it landing in the inbox of the business, the invoice was taken offline by scammers and the bank account details modified. The small business subsequently paid the invoice into the wrong account and only discovered the error when the supplier contacted it to ask where the payment was.
To guard against potential scams, Schaper recommends small businesses establish a multi-person approval process for any payments, with two or more people cross-checking payments that are made by the company.
He also recommends ensuring accounting software is as up-to-date as possible, as accounting programs can often pick up irregularities in bank account details. It is also important to update any electronic security software on company computers.
Small businesses concerned about the scam can find more information on the ACCC ScamWatch website http://www.scamwatch.gov.au.
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