TWK Agri has been the victim of scrupulous attempts by fraudsters to defraud TWK Agri or their clients.

 

These attempts include the following: 

 

• Business identity theft occurred when criminals assumed the identities of TWK Agri, Directors, Managers, or employees to obtain credit fraudulently;

• Cybercriminals stole TWK Agri’s critical information, such as name, address, contact details, letterheads, etc., to commit fraud. This allowed them to obtain credit and to purchase goods;

• The fraudsters created look-alike electronic correspondence signatures. These deceptive signatures mimic TWK Agri to convince our clients to part with sensitive information;

• Emulating TWK Agri’s letterhead or sending fake correspondence was used, but recently, more advanced tactics have emerged:             

  • Phishing scams - Electronic Correspondence looks and sounds authentic; and

  •  Hacking into an executive's email and sending fake correspondences to the finance team/manager asking for a last “purchasing of a gift” or request for a salary to be paid into a new bank account.
     

• Fraudsters placed fake purchasing orders, requesting and issuing a purchase order on a client’s particulars. The purchase order typically looks identical to that of the known company. The purchasing request is placed, and the delivery of goods is sent to a fraudster’s location;

• Fraud attempts occur during payment disbursement. Fraudsters impersonate legitimate suppliers and request changes to their payment details.

 

Preventative Measures: 

• Allow only designated department buyers to place orders.

• Use only known companies — or ask for references.

• Review email addresses thoroughly. Does the e-mail domain make sense?

• Do not inform unfamiliar suppliers about your business operations over the phone or via e-mail.

• Do not respond to unsolicited e-mails from unfamiliar suppliers.

• Never place an order via e-mail to a supplier you don't know.

• Return or refuse all items received from an apparent scam.

• Do not authorise payment for transactions you believe to be scams. 

 

Practical Tips: 

• Maintain a good relationship with existing suppliers and know your contacts whom you should be able to liaise with.

• Ensure that you confirm any change of banking details with someone you usually deal with at the organisation before making any changes to beneficiary accounts. When calling the organisation to confirm the changes to banking details, use a number from the telephone directory and not the number on the letterhead or email as you will most likely be calling the fraudster.

• If talking to this ‘supplier’ on the telephone beforehand, they may ask about when you last sent payments to them, looking to see if you are still an active client. Again, ask to speak to contacts that you recognise and if necessary, ask your contact to call you back.

• Question whether well-known companies would change their banking details without notifying people through more formal channels.

• Beware of supposed confirmatory emails from almost identical email addresses, such as .com instead of.co.za, or addresses that differ from the genuine one by perhaps one letter that can be easily missed.

• Instruct staff responsible for paying invoices to scrutinise invoices for irregularities and escalating suspicions to a known contact.

• It is essential to make sure that you are certain of the identity of the person your business is always dealing with.

• Ensure that your company’s private information is not disclosed to third parties who are not entitled to receive it, or third parties whose identities cannot be rightfully verified.

• Rather shred your business and suppliers’ invoices or any communication material that may contain letterheads, than to discard in rubbish bins.

• Consider reviewing previous requests to change account details to confirm whether they were genuine or not.

• To avoid your customers acting on an instruction allegedly from you, alert them to this type of fraud.

 

As it appears the threat of business identity theft is not going away anytime soon, it is important that businesses, both small and large, recognise the real risk that identity theft poses, and take the necessary precautionary measures to prevent serious financial loss and other damages.