The holidays are a busy time and unfortunately, a prime season for fraud. Teams are often overwhelmed with work, juggling tasks and moving fast to get everything completed before the holidays, making it easy for small oversights to lead to big losses. It only takes one time for a major loss to happen, so here are some scams to keep on your radar for the upcoming holiday season.

Invoice & Updated Information Scams

Fraudsters will gain access to vendor emails or impersonate trusted contacts, sending requests to “update banking details” the same time as businesses are working on finishing year-end invoices or settling payments. These requests often look convincing and slip through unnoticed.

Example: In 2019 Google and Facebook lost out on over $122 million when a Lithuanian man created a fake company that appeared to be a legitimate supplier. He then sent fake invoices to people in the company who paid the money straight into his accounts.

Prevention is as simple as implementing a requirement to get verbal confirmation of any changes made to vendor banking information or large invoices that seem to be unusual by using a trusted phone number from your records. Maybe even adopt a “phone call rule” for all transactions exceeding a certain amount, with no exceptions. In addition, document every change made to keep a record of methods of verification of the changes.

Urgent Message Scams

“Your boss wants you to wire money — NOW”

This scam targets employees with urgent messages that appear to come from managers or fellow coworkers. Fraudsters impersonate them by spoofing emails or phone numbers and then demand immediate wire transfers to occur. During high-pressure time periods like the holidays, these requests often go unquestioned.

Did You Know?

According to TransUnion, businesses with less than 1,000 employees have a 70% chance of experiencing at least one email being compromised a week.

Prevention of this can be making a company policy to have wire transfers needed approval from two people before sending them out. Or requiring the “phone call rule” as well for all wires before sending any out. Then documenting the method of verification of the wire transfer.

Holiday Cheer Without the Fraud Fear

The holiday season should be about milestones and meeting goals, not fraud headaches. With a trained team, strong policies and smart security measures, you can keep fraudsters out and your business safe.