We are sharing the below information on behalf of our colleagues at Educator Solutions
Norfolk Schools are experiencing targeted fraudulent activity by criminals who are purporting to be genuine suppliers requesting bank details to be changed on invoices for payment. One instance has been identified concerning the company:
Sportsafe UK LTD
Emails purporting to be from this company have been received from MWhite@sportssafeuk.com (note the additional 's' in the email address). The emails do not originate from Sportsafe UK LTD and you should not respond.
Should you receive an invoice for payment that appears to be from the genuine supplier please ensure you verify the invoice is genuine using the below advice. The supplier has confirmed their bank details have not changed, so should you receive a request to change bank details; it is likely to be false.
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Verify all invoices, as well as requests to change bank account details. To check that a request is legitimate, contact the supplier directly using established contact details you have on file.
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(DO NOT USE THE CONTACT DETAILS PROVIDED ON AN AMENDED INVOICE OR BANK MANDATE CHANGE REQUEST TO CONTACT THE SUPPLIER)
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Mandate fraud is when someone gets you to change a direct debit, standing order or BACS payment details, by purporting to be an organisation you make payments to, for example a contractor or supplier.
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Notify your bank and Educator Solutions immediately if you see any unusual activity on your account or suspect mandate fraud has occurred.
How can Mandate fraud occur (examples)?
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You receive a call, email, letter, amended (or unexpected) invoice from someone pretending to be a genuine supplier/contractor. They provide details of a new bank account and asks you to change the payment details to reflect this. The payment details are then amended on the school’s finance system. The following month you receive communication from the genuine supplier/contractor because they never received payment for their invoice.
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You are contacted by someone pretending to be from an organisation you have a standing order with and request you change the order to reflect a change in their banking. The standing order mandate is changed accordingly but next month the actual organisation fails to deliver your products, or a membership has been cancelled as they did not receive their payment.
Advice to avoid Mandate fraud
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Verify all invoices, as well as requests to change bank account details. To check that a request is legitimate, contact the supplier directly using established contact details you have on file.
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(DO NOT USE THE CONTACT DETAILS PROVIDED ON AN AMENDED INVOICE OR BANK MANDATE CHANGE REQUEST TO CONTACT THE SUPPLIER)
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Access to sensitive financial information should be carefully controlled. Don't dispose of confidential documents without shredding them first.
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Check your bank statements regularly for any suspicious transactions. If you notice anything unusual, notify your bank immediately.
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Ensure you internal policies are up to date with the above advice and that staff are trained appropriately