What You Need to Know about the Change of Payment Details Scam

Companies typically receive Change of Payment Detail requests via email. The received email appears to be from a trusted vendor or employee stating that they have changed banking relationships and to remit all future payments to the updated bank account and routing number. Fraudsters go to extreme lengths to make the emails appear legitimate by including the company’s logo, using compromised employee information, and may even use a recognized email address; which makes it even harder to determine if the email is fraudulent.

How can you protect yourself and your company from falling victim to fraud?

• Always treat requests for changes to payment information as a red flag.
• Always personally verify any requests for payment account changes by reaching out to a known contact at the organization with the phone number on file for that vendor or employee.
• Do not attempt to contact them via any numbers listed on the email.
• Develop an internal policy on how these requests are handled ensuring that all employees know the steps needed to verify that the request is legitimate.

Taking the extra step to personally verify any payment instruction changes can help to prevent your company from becoming a victim of fraud. If you have experienced a fraudulent email, or would like more information on how to recognize fraud attempts, please contact your NexTier Bank Treasury Management team.