Businesses, alert your accounting and HR personnel to a recent uptick in payroll scams. In the latest scheme, scammers are contacting businesses posing as an employee looking to change their direct deposit account information. Once a change is made, the employee’s payroll is diverted to a fraudulent account. In some cases, the scammer poses as or name drops company executives or senior managers to help them seem legitimate.
To prevent payroll fraud, it’s critical to educate employees on safe email practices and to have multi-layer verification processes in place to confirm identity before changes are made. Fraud prevention measures may include:
- Being cautious of requests for bank account changes, especially if the message is vague or unusually urgent.
- Validating changes directly with the employee before giving out any information or processing any changes. (In person, by calling the known contact number, instant message, etc.)
- Requiring the employee submit a written request with a “wet” signature.
- Carefully vetting all emails that contain links and attachments and only click if you are confident the email is authentic.
If you or one of your employees has clicked on an email or attachment in a suspicious email, immediately contact your company’s IT team to ensure measures can be taken to protect your business and employee information.
If you ever feel information related to your financial accounts with MVSB has been compromised, please call directly at 800.922.6872 so that we can assist you with protecting your accounts.
