Firm scammed out of £1 million by bogus bank call
A Suffolk company has been conned out of £1 million in what's believed to be the biggest-ever telephone banking scam.
The conman called the unnamed company, claiming to be a representative of its bank. He said that the company's internet banking facility had been hit by a virus, and advised that the money in the company accounts should be transferred into separate holding accounts whilst the bank put everything right.
He managed to disguise his own telephone number using a technique known as 'spoofing', so that the call appeared to come from the bank's fraud team, winning the staff member's trust.
The fraudster then instructed the company to download remote access software that enabled him to access the new bank accounts and clear them out.
"The incident has left staff at the company understandably distressed and police are issuing a warning in a bid to raise awareness of this type of offence and the method used," say Suffolk Police in a statement.
While this case is unusual in involving a company - and an enormous sum of money - such frauds are on the rise, more usually targeting individuals. According to Financial Fraud Action, similar telephone banking scams netted fraudsters £23.6 million last year.
And more than a third of victims don't get compensation, as they're deemed to have brought the situation on themselves.
So how can you avoid falling victim?
Neither banks nor the police will ever ask you to transfer or hand over sums of money, and you should never give out details of bank accounts, PINs or personal information.
"If you receive contact from an unknown caller stop and think for a moment," say the police. "Be suspicious, particularly if they are telling you something is wrong or that you need to send or hand over money."
If you do get a call purporting to be from the bank or the police, don't trust caller ID. You'll need to check by hanging up and calling back on a number you know is genuine.
But wait ten minutes before you do this, and if possible use a different phone: fraudsters often manage to stay on the line and make it appear that they're answering your call.
And it's not just phone calls that you have to be wary of: recently, scammers have started using text messages to carry out the same type of fraud. This can be even harder to spot, as if you've got your bank's number in the phone's memory, the text will show up as part of your conversation history.
Once again, the answer is to call the bank yourself to confirm, on a number you know to be genuine.
And if you do suspect you've been the victim of a fraud, call your bank immediately to try and limit the damage, and report the incident to Action Fraud.
Read more on AOL Money:
Beware the latest ATM scam
How to spot an email scam - before you click on it
Many vishing victims get no money back
