Firms urged to be vigilant against e-crime
Monday, August 03, 2009 - 03:15 PM
The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises (ISME) association has warned owner managers to be on their guard as fraudsters target the business community.
The association estimated that businesses will be ‘ripped off’ from a range of scams, including e-crime, unless companies put in place policies to prevent this.
The recent ISME Crime Survey ‘09 confirmed that 71% of businesses had been the target of a scam in the last 12 months, (an increase of 2% on 2008 figures and a massive increase of 33% on 2007 figures).
Overseas offers, business directories and Lotto winnings are the three most prevalent scams being attempted.
Companies are being inundated with spurious invoices, sham deliveries, unsolicited correspondence for non-existent business guides and internet directories which are the actions of fraudsters.
ISME chief executive, Mark Fielding warned: “The latest attempted fraud involves companies receiving bogus internet correspondence from the Revenue Commissioners requesting certain financial information to process tax rebates.
“In the past number of weeks, numerous companies have also received invoices and ‘legal’ payment requests from companies, purportedly based in Switzerland and Spain, seeking payment for entries in an international directory.
“The incidence of these scams increases during the summer holidays as fraudsters are aware that, in many cases, senior management may be out of the office “
More than two thirds (68%) of respondents to the ISME Crime Survey were in favour of a national central e-crime body to deal with the issue.
Mr Fielding said the complexity, and frequency of e-crime and business scams is rising. “Companies need to be more vigilant particularly during holiday periods.”
The association recommends the following to help deal with fake invoices and requests: All invoices must be checked carefully. Check the document for small print and read it. Nominate one or two senior staff who must sign all documentation. Ensure that all signatories within the company are fully briefed.
Ensure that all staff understand procedures for signing off. ISME also recommended that any business being harassed by bogus demands for payment for directory entries to contact the ISME Helpline on (01) 6622755.
Article courtesy of The Evening Echo newspaper.
