Stay jolly, stay safe: Watch out for holiday fraudsters!
It’s the time of year for those jingle bells to start jingling. While the season of holiday cheer is approaching, most people are focusing on finishing work before the year ends, enjoying family time, and preparing for the festive period. Fraudsters, on the other hand, have other plans. Make sure you don’t fall for the most common scams targeting corporate clients and financial institutions.
Phishing attacks
Phishing is still the number one fraud. The scammers send emails that appear to be from legitimate sources, tricking you into revealing sensitive information or clicking malicious links.
Invoice fraud
Invoice fraud comes in many varieties. In all cases, the fraudsters will either request you to change the beneficiary account to their own, or they will send you a fake invoice, which they then use to redirect the invoiced funds. Fraudsters find this method easy to execute, and it carries minimal risk for them. That's why it's the most popular method of business deception. So, be extra vigilant when it comes to changing the beneficiary account.
Spoofing scam
The impersonating bank employee scam involves receiving a call from a fraudster posing as a bank employee. This is called spoofing. They will ask you to perform some sort of security check or 'update,' requiring you to generate one or more verification codes. Alternatively, they may request that you move all your funds to a secure account due to a potential hack on your current one. A real employee will never ask you to do this.
CxO fraud
In the case of CxO fraud, fraudsters would use social engineering to profile your company, so they can plausibly pose as a senior manager (someone of the C-suite, hence “CxO Fraud”) or a third party acting on behalf of senior management and manipulate employees into executing payment transactions or sharing confidential information.
AI-powered fraud
The number of CxO frauds via deepfake is increasing. The sophistication of these frauds can lead to significant financial and reputational damage to your organisation, making it crucial for employees at all levels to be informed and vigilant.
Payroll scam fraud
In some recent cases, several companies’ human resource departments received an email from one of their employees asking help for changing their account information. Had they known about the latest scam out there, they would have realised that it wasn’t an employee asking for help. It was a fraudster attempting to steal an employee’s salary.
Staying vigilant
Many of these scams follow a similar pattern—a request to click a link or share some information. Remember, if a call seems strange, just hang up. Never click unknown links or divulge any information if you’re even remotely suspicious. As the holiday season approaches, it’s crucial to educate yourself about these scams and implement robust security measures. By staying informed and cautious, you can help protect your organisation from becoming a victim of fraud this festive season.
Report fraud
When you suspect or detect fraud, notify your ING representative as quickly as possible. This increases the chance for us to step in and reduce impact. Even if you are in doubt, always let us know when you see suspicious behaviour, transactions, or communication. Learn how to report fraud.