Keeping your Business Safe from Fraud

What’s a common example of a business scam?

Right now, with a lot of people having to switch bank accounts, criminals are capitalising on this by sending you emails that pretend to be from suppliers. In these emails they ask you to change their bank details to new ones that they supply.

How do I know if it’s real?

Unfortunately, these criminals are clever enough to make these emails look totally genuine. So, all you can do to be sure is to phone the company in question on a telephone number that you know to be genuine and simply ask them if they have really changed their bank details.

What else can I do to stay safe from criminals trying to scam my business?

Ideally your business should have a process in place for the authorisation of payments and make sure that this is documented so everyone involved is aware of it and can access it easily at all times. If anyone gets a request that doesn’t comply with the process - especially one by email - it should always be double checked.

Train all staff on fraud prevention procedures with guidelines including:

• DON’T respond to any emails that ask for financial, personal or security information without first verifying that the email definitely came from the company or person it seems to have some from. This should ideally be done by phone on a previously used number.
• DON’T ever give out security details like a PIN or online banking password.
  
• DON’T click on a link or attachment in an email unless it has been verified by phone.
  

You should also ensure that you have the most up to date IT and data security in place and look for independent advice if you don’t have the appropriate skills in house.

And finally, trust your gut - if it feels wrong, it probably is.

At AIB we’re supporting our customers to help avoid scams and frauds, so if you think you’ve been a victim of a scam or fraud, please call the iBusiness Banking support team on:

iBusiness Banking (ROI): 0818 72 00 00 (within Ireland) or +353 1 641 4889 (outside of Ireland)

Allied Irish Bank (NI) iBusiness Banking: 0370 243 0331

Allied Irish Bank (GB) iBusiness Banking: 0370 243 0331

Lines open Monday to Friday (09:00 to 17:00)