Minister Peter Burke pictured with BPFI’s head of financial crime Niamh Davenport. Photo: Naoise Culhane
Irish SMEs lost almost €10m through email scams last year according to the latest figures from FraudSmart, the awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
The number of email scams recorded by BPFI increased by almost a quarter last year, while the average loss for a company was around €12,000.
The majority of cases in Ireland last year were invoice redirection scams, while BPFI also recorded a number of incidences of chief executive impersonation scams.
Invoice redirection scams involve an email from a supplier who is known to a business which includes new bank details for upcoming payments.
However, this company has been hacked or their email activity has been copied by those involved in the scam. A business is not immediately asked for money in the email but instead receives a request to update bank details on its own systems for future payments.
As a result, businesses can end up transferring money related to a legitimate invoice sent by the supplier to a new account controlled by fraudsters. Often, companies impacted by the scam only realise they have been targeted when they receive a payment reminder from a supplier after they have already paid.
FraudSmart has now teamed up with the Irish SME Association (ISME) to urge SMEs to introduce new measures to protect their operations.
Both groups called on small businesses to contact a supplier directly on the phone if they receive an email requesting a change of bank account details for payment. Companies who suspect they are victims of a scam should also contact their bank and gardaí as soon as possible.
“Unfortunately, while fraudsters target businesses of all sizes, SMEs can be particularly vulnerable compared to larger companies due to more limited resources, less investment in security infrastructure as well as lower financial buffers to withstand any losses,” BPFI’s head of financial crime Niamh Davenport said.
Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister Peter Burke noted SMEs account for two-thirds of employment in Ireland, with 92pc employing fewer than 10 people.
“It is vitally important that business owners and employees are aware of the risks that fraudsters pose and put the necessary measures in place,” he said.
ISME chief executive Neil McDonnell said: “I would also encourage businesses to put training in place for employees to ensure they are constantly aware of current fraud risks.”
