Mandate fraud is one of the most reported frauds in the UK. You can defend your business against it by following some simple tips.
The City of London Police ran a campaign in March 2019 to raise awareness among businesses of the dangers of mandate fraud.
What is Mandate Fraud?
Mandate fraud is where someone tricks you into changing details of a direct debit, standing order or bank transfer by pretending to be an organisation you make regular payments to. Examples include a business supplier or a subscription.
It’s a simple but effective fraud and is used a lot. Scammers can easily steal a huge amount of money.
Between October 2017 and September 2018, mandate fraud victims lost £160m, while over 8,000 mandate fraud reports were made to Action Fraud UK last year.
Follow these simple tips to fight mandate fraud:
Follow the campaign on social media
You can follow the #BeatMandateFraud campaign on Twitter, checking for updates from:
- @actionfrauduk
- @CyberProtectUK
- @TVPCyber_Fraud
- And using the hashtag #BeatMandateFraud
Examples of mandate fraud
Someone contacts your business pretending to be one of your suppliers. They say their bank details have changed so you need to amend their account to reflect this. You make the change.
But the next month the genuine supplier asks what’s happened to your monthly payment. You realise you’ve been a victim of fraud.
Read more about mandate fraud and how to minimise your risk to it on the Thames Valley Police website.
More advice on tackling cyber crime
Read the Thames Valley Police article – ‘Are you worried about cyber-crime affecting your business?’
Read Action Fraud’s guide for businesses in the event of suffering a live cyber attack.
