MODUS OPERANDI
A criminal orders goods or services from a business and tricks the victim into thinking the money has been paid into their account by providing proof of payment in the hopes that they will receive the goods or service before the victim realises the money has not cleared. By the time the victim notices they’ve been scammed, it is too late as they are already out of pocket as they do not have the goods nor the money. In other instances, the order is cancelled and an urgent refund is requested. Alternatively, a payment is made in “error” and an urgent refund is requested
TIPS
- No “refund” should be made without first verifying with the Bank that the deposit that has been made into your account is indeed valid.
- In addition, a Bank customer should wait for all payments to first be cleared before releasing the goods and proving the service.
- Take great care to protect personal information and that of your company as it is through access to this information that perpetrators gain access to you and your organisation.
- Staff dealing with finances in your organisation must also be educated about such scams.