Advice from the Cyber Crime Team for Businesses in the North East

The Cyber Crime team at Cleveland Police have been made aware of a number of payment diversion frauds in the North East area and are advising all businesses to be vigilant with any request for money, even if the request is from a trusted sender.

Payment diversion fraud is where a fraudster will send an email to a business pretending to be another company that they are familiar with and ask them to make a payment or change the bank account details. They will often spoof the email address or use a very similar email (for example Microsoft/rnicrosoft or Amazon/Amazön), they will often attach an invoice which is a perfect replica of the cloned business to help convince the recipient too.

Cyber Protect & Prepare Officer, Kelly Close said: “If you receive an email requesting payment or a change of bank details, please check with the business involved by calling them on a number known to you or by speaking to them in person before you make any payments.”

More information can be found within the National Cyber Security Centre's business email compromise advice document. 

If you believe your business may be a victim of this, contact your bank immediately and Report it to Action Fraud online at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040.