Police issues warning to employers over fake employee emails

The Police are warning business owners and payroll operators to be wary of a fraudulent activity after receiving several reports of scammers attempting to gain access to employees bank accounts.

Police say the scammers, largely operating from overseas IP addresses, are creating a false email address in the name of a company employee and then emailing the person’s employer or payroll provider requesting a change of bank account.

The scammers are reportedly supplying another New Zealand bank account number for funds to be transferred to in an attempt to make the request seem legitimate.

South District Police are urging employers to verify by phone or in person any request to change employee bank account details.

This elaborate scam seems to be the latest swirling around but Police have recently seen another scam whereby the scammer intercepts customer invoices sent by businesses over email.

Similarly, the scammers are creating a false business email account, very similar to the original ones, and advising customers that the bank account details for payment have changed.

The Police says any customer who has made a payment to a fraudulent bank account should contact their bank immediately.

For more information on how to recognise, avoid and take action against scams, have a look at Consumer Protection’s Consumer Protection’s Scamwatch web pages.