Accounts Departments Beware

Dear friends and colleagues,

Please share this with your friends and colleagues, especial the accounts department.

Recently Eden have been subject to attempted banking frauds, we haven’t lost any money and nor has our bank but it is a significant inconvenience to both each day and I dare say some companies and banks have lost funds to this.

If you are offering products or services and a new customer contacts you requesting a proforma invoice please bear the below in mind.

A) Overseas sender of emails. Dubai and Malaysia are common. It appears the fraudsters in our case are actually in the UK.

B) Email addressed are the email service providers such as, but not limited to, gmail, hotmail and outlook rather than proper companies.

C) The values of the proforma is attractive but not mind blowing amounts.

D) A key phase common in the emails is "I was just notified by the accounting department on my return that the payment in the amount of (￡x,xxx.xx) has been made into your account instead of (￡y,yyy.yy) invoice amount by our financial services Erroneous blunder."

Obviously x and y change with the different cases.

Here is how I think it works....

1. Fraudsters contact Victim A Limited.

2. Select a range of products and ask for a proforma invoice. Most proforma invoices have the company logo and bank details.

3. Use the information on the proforma to create the first set of fraudulent cheques.

4. Contact Victim B Limited.

5. Select a range of products and ask for a proforma invoice.

6. Send a cheque drawn on Victim A Limited direct to Victim B Limited's bankers (so Victim B Limited never see the actual cheque) for significantly more than the proforma.

7. Contact Victim B Limited asking them to check their balance and request a refund of the difference between the proforma and the overpayment cheque via bank transfer.

8. New clean money is received from Victim B Limited direct to the fraudsters account.

9. Use Victim B Limited’s proforma to create a new set of cheques.

10. Contact Victim C Limited.

11. Select a range of products and ask for a proforma invoice.

12. Send a cheque drawn on Victim B Limited direct to Victim C Limited's bankers for significantly more than the proforma.

13. Contact Victim C Limited asking them to check their balance and request a refund of the difference between the proforma and the overpayment cheque via bank transfer.

14. New clean money is received from Victim C Limited direct to the fraudsters account.

…Repeat as necessary…

Please be on your guard.

Best regards,

Neil.