How often do you receive a letter from a supplier saying they have changed their bank account details? You ring the number on the top of the letter, and a nice person says "yes - I can confirm we are changing the details, thank you". Off you trot to instruct the system to recognise and, in future, pay, the new bank account.
Then something happens. Something you need to be fully aware of. You are sliding unwittingly into a world of criminal activity, where you, I'm afraid, are the victim.
An invoice arrives from said supplier. You notice they have failed to update their bank details. "Silly them" you quip. You settle the invoice and instruct the payment. Two months later, the phone rings. It's the supplier. They're chasing payment. The payment never hit their account...
I chaired The AP Tech Summit in London last week. Two speakers independent of each other remarked that this kind of fraud was on the rise. Criminal organisations cotton on to which suppliers you use, and compose a very officail and authentic looking letter, seemingly from one of your suppliers, stating their bank details have changed... to theirs. They provide a number to call, and the rest is simple.
This seems to be a particular problem in the government sector in the UK where government bodies are obliged to publish their supplier lists.
The way around it? Don't call the number on the letter. Look it up from the company's official website or from your master database.
When I asked who else had experienced similar letters, hands from about 25% of the audience lifted. It's a common problem, but easily avoided so long as all the right people in the team are educated.
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