The World of Fraud – A $20 Billion Dollar Industry 

As a reminder to accounting departments preparing to forward funds to a vendor, it is important to be suspicious of emails or texts providing new banking information. Here are some red flags to look out for:  

• The email or text is from an unfamiliar sender.?Legitimate vendors will always use their own email address or phone number.   
• The email or text asks you to update your vendor’s banking information, even though you haven’t recently done business with them.?Legitimate vendors will only ask you to update your banking information if there is a legitimate reason, such as a change in their bank account.  
• Your vendor is from Utah, the new banking information is for a bank in Florida, or some other country – always learn to question!  
• The email or text contains a link or attachment.?Phishing emails often contain links or attachments that will take you to a fake website or download malware onto your computer.  
• The email or text may be poorly written or contain grammatical errors.?Phishing emails are often poorly written, as the scammers don’t want to put in the time and effort to make them look legitimate.    

If you receive an email or text that you think may be fraudulent, it is important to do the following:  

• Do not click on any links or open any attachments.  
• Do not reply to the email or text.  
• Contact your vendor directly to verify the new banking information.  
• Report the phishing attempt to the authorities. 

By following these steps, you can help protect yourself from vendor email compromise fraud.  

Some additional tips to help you stay safe:  

• Never provide your banking information over the phone or via email, unless you are sure that you are speaking to a legitimate representative of the company or organization.  
• Review your account statements regularly for any unauthorized transactions.  
• Set up alerts for your account.?This way, you will be notified if there is any activity on your account. 
• Use a strong password for your online banking account.?Change your password regularly.  
• Never use public Wi-Fi to access your online banking account.?Use a secure connection instead.