Fraudulent invoices

[Alan]

I had been aware of this tactic of and was always very careful when paying invoices that I received by email. Last week I received an invoice from the landscaper who had been working on our garden for a couple of weeks. I did my usual process of setting up the contractor as a new payee in my bank and sent him £1. I then called him to confirm that he had received it okay then sent him the balance. An hour later my bank called me and asked if the payment I had just made was for an invoice that I had received by email, and after I had told her the procedure I had gone through to verify I was paying the correct person she thanked me for my diligence and said that she had released the hold on the transaction and the payment would proceed.

Less of an issue in the USA for individuals who rarely pay invoices using bank to bank, but still something to be aware of when receiving pdf format invoices via email. If the senders email has been hacked then you may receive an invoice that has been altered “en route” as it where.


https://www.investec.com/en_gb/welc...ights/personal-finance/latest-fraud-scam.html

Fraudsters no longer need access to your bank accounts in order to steal money. By hacking into your email, scammers can intercept invoices, changing the payment details of individuals and businesses.

 

[Chuckanut]

The tricks and traps get better every year.

We need to keep watch for ourselves and our loved ones.

 

[JoeWras]

Yes, the worst one is the hacking of Realtor's accounts. Apparently, hacks would silently camp on the accounts, intercept closing documents, and then pressure the sellers to wire money to a new routing number faster than anticipated due to certain circumstances.

This was a few years ago. I think since then the word is out about this and closing parties are taking more caution.

 

[travelover]

Yes, the worst one is the hacking of Realtor's accounts. Apparently, hacks would silently camp on the accounts, intercept closing documents, and then pressure the sellers to wire money to a new routing number faster than anticipated due to certain circumstances.

This was a few years ago. I think since then the word is out about this and closing parties are taking more caution.

Yes, when I bought my home this spring, both the real estate agent and the title company were very careful to caution me about this scam and I called the title company to verify the routing number before I sent the payment. My real estate agent reported that one of her clients had actually been scammed out of big bucks.

 

[ERD50]

Yes, when I bought my home this spring, both the real estate agent and the title company were very careful to caution me about this scam and I called the title company to verify the routing number before I sent the payment. My real estate agent reported that one of her clients had actually been scammed out of big bucks.

Wow. My reaction to most of these is "how could they be that naive?" But if it came from the title company, and you were expecting this sort of thing, and with all the excitement/confusion surrounding a home purchase, I can see how someone could get tripped up by this.

And wired money is gone, pooof! Little chance of ever clawing that back. Scary!

-ERD50

 

[Alan]

Wow. My reaction to most of these is "how could they be that naive?" But if it came from the title company, and you were expecting this sort of thing, and with all the excitement/confusion surrounding a home purchase, I can see how someone could get tripped up by this.

And wired money is gone, pooof! Little chance of ever clawing that back. Scary!

-ERD50

I listened to the story of a lawyer, including an interview with her. She had been scammed out of her clients’ money which fortunately for the clients was covered by the insurance she was required to have. However the Law Society decided that her ignorance in this type of scam was enough to have her disbarred.

 

[travelover]

Wow. My reaction to most of these is "how could they be that naive?" But if it came from the title company, and you were expecting this sort of thing, and with all the excitement/confusion surrounding a home purchase, I can see how someone could get tripped up by this.

And wired money is gone, pooof! Little chance of ever clawing that back. Scary!

-ERD50

Yes, and in my case I was buying a house cash, so half a million-ish. Pretty scary that you just send it to a routing number in the ether and pray.

 

[pb4uski]

Yes, my sister is closing on a house this week and I have warned her of the scam... she called the title company and confirmed the wiring instructions.

 

[Bestwifeever]

My friend is a paralegal who does closings and she just told me the buyers’ attorney called her to verify a change she had requested via email about where to direct moneys—except she hadn’t. So the fraud is alive and well. Scary.

Thanks for the heads up, Alan!

 

[Sunset]

Yes, and in my case I was buying a house cash, so half a million-ish. Pretty scary that you just send it to a routing number in the ether and pray.

I'm always worried that I'll have a dyslexic moment when doing that type of thing and pay the money to the wrong person, or for the wrong tax property.

 

[Alan]

Here the banks have committed to adding an account name check along with routing number and account number. If the name you enter is not a very close match with the name on the account you will get a warning and suggested follow up action.

 

[Rianne]

Back in the 80's everything was so trustworthy. When DH/me, getting close to wedding date, had to provide our original birth certificates to get married in the Catholic Church. I opened the envelope my mom gave to me. I'd never seen my birth certificate before. It was all yellowed. I looked at my b-day and it was wrong. I mean it was right, but it was not the b-day I'd had all my life. It was a week off. I'd been driving for over 10 years, went through college, graduated, had a student loan, opened bank accounts all with the wrong b-day.

This being before 9/11, I went to the SS office and told my tale. They just changed it: no big deal. All my records before that have the wrong b-day and no one even questions it.