Bank transfer fraud: how to protect yourself against this offence?

While it’s true that there are many advantages to using the Internet, there are also disadvantages. Among these drawbacks are cybercriminal attacks such as the fraudulent transfer order (FOVI). Although not widely known, transfer order fraud is affecting more and more people as a result of developments linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the widespread teleworking it has brought about. So it’s important to know how to identify it, and take the appropriate steps to limit the damage. We tell you all about it!

What is a false transfer order scam?

False money transfer scams involve using persuasion, threats or pressure of any kind to get the victim to make an unscheduled transfer of funds.

It is sometimes presented as coming from an executive and being of an urgent and confidential nature. This is known as the “President scam“. A variant of this offence is to impersonate a supplier in order to communicate new bank details to which a transfer is to be made.

Another variant involves impersonating an employee of an organization to request a change in the bank account details to which the employee’s salary is to be transferred. The bank account belonging to the cybercriminal is often located abroad.

This type of scam is carried out by telephone, e-mail or both, and concerns all types of organization.

Bank transfer fraud: how does it work?

It may seem simple to many people, but the president scam requires a relatively advanced knowledge of computers. This is what makes it such a devastating attack for its victims.

It all starts with identifying the victim. Based on his or her activity on social networks, the cybercriminal collects personal and even confidential information. By analyzing your social network friends and posts, the cybercriminal will find a psychological bias to approach you.

Next comes email identity theft. The cybercriminal sends you an e-mail. When you open this e-mail, you unknowingly activate malware. Malware is malicious software that installs itself on your computer, without you even realizing it.

Using this software, hackers collect the information they need, such as your login and other access codes or passwords. Last but not least, the cybercriminal impersonates the employee’s line manager, asking him or her to make an urgent transfer of funds on the pretext, for example, of a strictly confidential and extremely important project.

Once the funds have been transferred to the account, they are immediately dispersed to different bank accounts abroad, making them virtually impossible to trace.

Phishing is also very popular with cybercriminals. The offensive also uses the e-mail channel, but with “worst-case scenario” content inviting you to click on an emergency link. The purpose of all this, of course, is to steal your personal information and use it to defraud you.

What can you do to protect yourself against transfer fraud?

Fraud on the president is definitely avoidable. There are several measures you can take to limit these scams.

Block the origin of attacks

To avoid falling victim to the president scam, the most immediate option is to use a mail protection service that is particularly effective at detecting spam and phishing.

So you need an effective solution like Altospam that goes beyond detection to help you identify these spoofing techniques. Altospam can help you protect your email by detecting anomalies and taking advantage of a combination of technologies to ensure quality filtering through a professional filtering mail relay .

Before the e-mail reaches the recipient, the Altospam e-mail protection server checks its legitimacy. It passes through anti-virus, anti-malware, anti-spam and anti-phishing systems. This way, your mailbox is protected from all kinds of unsolicited messages.

Limit publication of sensitive information

It’s important not to divulge information that details the company’s operations, whether on the Internet or by telephone. The names of various administrative staff and suppliers, and the way in which payments are made, are all items that must be kept secret.

We also need to make staff and customers aware of the existence of this type of abuse, and advise them not to communicate vital information about the company.

Keep in regular contact with your superiors and teams

A cybercriminal will always seek to isolate a team member in order to extract confidential information or obtain a transfer by posing as a known member of the company.

So it’s vital to use reliable, tested communication tools such as messaging, collaborative tools and intranets to pass on information to employees.