Santander bank warns of email scam

November 16, 2015

Fraudsters impersonating as a “senior colleague” from the bank are sending requests to finance departments asking them to transfer money into a fake account.

The email is in fact “spoofed” and sent from a forged address, disguising the sender’s true identity, with the criminal impersonating a genuine sender address, a message from the bank has advised.

Santander customers are advised to “watch out for minor differences, such as ‘.com’ instead of ‘.co.uk’ ”, and to ask themselves whether the message seems “out of character or random” or if the sender asks the customer to send the payment “outside of normal procedures”.

The bank also recommends customers contact the bank to verify the payment, and to confirm new payment instructions rather than immediately use those detailed in the email. Designated single points of contact with companies who are regularly paid are also advised, as well as additional checks with the requesting company, including confirmation the payment will be sent to the correct account.

The Financial Fraud Action (FFA) have issued an alert about the scam, viewable here.

Categories : Around the Industry

Tags : Business Crime