Security firm reports surge in invoice fraud resulting from Covid-19

Smarttech247 says it is one of the biggest risks of 2020 as it is quite a lucrative business for cybercriminals.
Security firm reports surge in invoice fraud resulting from Covid-19
Businesses are urged to practise good cybersecurity when working from home during Covid-19.

A security service firm says it has seen an increase in invoice redirection fraud in the past three months, due to Covid-19.

Smarttech247 says it is one of the biggest risks of 2020 as it is quite a lucrative business for cybercriminals.

It comes after a Waterford based company making Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the HSE was defrauded of over $74,000 (€65,000) after depositing the money into a bogus bank account.

General Manager of Smarttech247, Raluca Saceaunu advised businesses to establish good cybersecurity practises especially when working from home.

She said: "It is important to practice good cyber hygiene especially in times where we are all working from home.

"That means changing your passwords regularly, not using the same password for multiple accounts, understanding what phishing is and ways to prevent it, having email security protection in place,

"And of course companies need to be very vigilant when it comes to receiving urgent payment requests from their vendors or other suspicious activity.”

A Garda spokeswoman speaking about the recent increase of fraud risk said: “An Garda Síochána are asking all businesses to report any incidents of invoice redirect fraud to their local Garda station and financial institution immediately, as fraudulent transactions of this nature can move very quickly and it is important that immediate efforts are made to stop the transactions being completed.

“Even if the fraud has not been successful, it is possible that the bogus account is being used for other incidents of this nature and reporting it may prevent further incidents of fraud.”

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