Recently, a Summerland Bank customer fell victim to an email scam after paying a fake invoice received through email. Scammers had altered the bank details in the email and deceived the customer.

Staying scam aware means you stay scam safe. With the right knowledge, you can be equipped against scammers should you encounter them. This scam is known as a business email compromise, where individuals and businesses are targeted through email deception. There are typically two methods used:

1. Invoice or payment fraud: Fraudsters gain access to a vendor’s email account, modify legitimate invoices, and send them to customers with altered bank details.
2. Company impersonation: Scammers pose as trusted organisations in emails, often with professional-looking layouts and stolen logos, to request payments or payment detail updates.

Look out for these red flags:

• Unexpected changes in bank details.
• Urgent payment requests or threats of consequences for non-payment.
• Emails from unfamiliar suppliers or differences in payment amounts.
• Suspicious email addresses that don’t exactly match the supplier’s name.

Protect yourself:

• Verify the legitimacy of messages through known contact details or official website.
• Avoid clicking on email links or opening attachments.
• Check for slight variations in email addresses compared to previous messages.

For more information, visit Scamwatch. Cybercrimes can be reported to cyber.gov.au, with reports forwarded to relevant officials.