Remote Access scams will often begin with a browser pop-up saying that your computer is infected with a virus, or maybe a call from someone claiming to be from your bank or a well-known computer support centre such as Microsoft or McAfee. Their goal is to access your financial information by tricking you into letting them remotely connect to your computer.

To get connected to your computer or other device, such as a mobile phone or tablet, they’ll ask you to download a legitimate app such as TeamViewer or AnyDesk, or by simply getting you to click on a link. Remote access gives the other person full access to view and act on everything you can.

What to do if you allowed remote access
 

If you installed any apps or clicked on any links that have downloaded remote access software, then you need to:

• hang up the phone and close your session
• report it to your bank straight away
• uninstall team-viewer or any new apps/software
• have the PC professionally cleaned, and
• keep your security software up to date on all devices.

Buying scams

These scams can happen when you find something online that you want to buy. This could be a holiday, flights, concert tickets or building materials. Once you've paid, you lose contact with the seller. You'll either receive no goods, or goods that are less valuable or different to those advertised.
 

Selling scams

These scams can happen when you sell items online. You may send the goods as agreed and never receive payment, or you may be tricked into returning an overpayment that was deliberately made using stolen card details or a fraudulent cheque. The fraudster will ask for the overpayment to be transferred back to them at different bank details.
 

How to spot a purchase scam?

These criminals are very clever, but there are sometimes warning signs that could help you identify them.

• An item that is advertised as priced under the recommended selling value – does it sound too good to be true?
• The seller makes extra effort in communication to push the sale through.
• The buyer sends you more money than they need to pay for the item, asking you to return the difference.
• A seller you don’t know asks you to use ‘PayPal Friends & Family’ service or to pay for goods by bank transfer.
• Facebook Marketplace is a great way to buy and sell locally. Be cautious when buying an item that you can’t see in person. The seller may be using a fake profile, buying this way is high risk.
   

Protect yourself?

Even if there are no warning signs, we’d recommend considering the following:

• If buying from a reputable site such as eBay, Airbnb, Autotrader or Gumtree, stick to the payment options they’ve provided. Never communicate outside the site.
• Always use secure payment methods, such as PayPal or your credit card where you can.
• If you’re buying a large item such as a car, make sure you see it in person before making any payment.
• Be wary of accepting payment for goods by cheque.
• Never send personal or financial details by email.
• Research the seller and site and always read the reviews. Check several review sites and compare them. This helps rule out any fake reviews left by fraudsters.

Staying safe when using Docusign

Criminals use DocuSign to send documents for payment redirection scams, or to download malware to your device. The email address they’re sending from looks like the real DocuSign one, but the document inside is fake.
 

What can you do to stay safe?

DocuSign have tips on spotting these messages. For example, you can check for the security access code found at the bottom of each message. For more tips on how to stay safe visit DocuSign's website.
 

Protect yourself from payment redirection scams.

Make sure you confirm payment details in person or over the phone using a known and trusted number.
 

Most staff are reliable, trustworthy and honest, however internal controls are still needed to stop any risk of fraud within your company. Sadly everyone is at risk of staff fraud.

This could be stealing stationery and abusing the company credit card, to faking invoices and cheques. Your staff may even be offering a different service to their friends and family without authority, or even collecting your confidential data such as client lists, processes and passwords.

Whatever it is, you should make sure your business has clear and effective controls to safeguard company assets, including customer data.
 

Key things to look out for
 

These can be signs of fraudulent activity:

• A member of staff who resigns shortly after joining
• Suppliers or contractors who refuse to deal with certain staff members
• A member of staff with financial difficulties
• A sudden change in an employee’s lifestyle, such as unexplained wealth or a standard of living beyond their apparent means
• Unusual changes in an employee’s behaviour or actions
• Complaints about missing documents.

You can get some useful information by visiting: https://www.cifas.org.uk/
 

Remember

Training your staff is one of the key ways to protect your business. Ensuring that all staff members have an understanding of fraud and what they can do to protect themselves and the business against fraud and scams should be a priority within your business. Ultimately you want to know that anyone working in your business has the knowledge and tools to keep the business safe.

Cheque scams start when a criminal pays a business for goods or services by cheque. They may even make it out for a higher amount than the actual value in an overpayment scam.
 

What may happen
 

1. A new ‘customer’ contacts your business to order goods or services.
2. Once the ‘customer’ has made the payment, they phone or email to reduce or cancel the order, or to say that they’ve made an error, e.g. that shipping fees were accidentally included in the payment, and request an urgent refund. Your payments team may also spot the overpayment and think it was just a simple typo, e.g. £16000 instead of £1600, and offer to return the difference.
3. Your business wants to keep the relationship with this new ‘customer’ and processes the refund quickly, using a more immediate electronic payment service such as a Faster Payment.
4. In due course, the original cheque is returned unpaid, because the account it is drawn on has no funds or does not exist. Your business is left with a financial loss because it refunded the amount ‘overpaid’.

Protect yourself

• Never accept a cheque for a higher value than you were expecting.
• Never feel pressured into making a refund or payment.
• Keep your chequebook in a safe place, report any missing cheques to your bank straight away and always check your statements thoroughly.
• If accepting payment by cheque, treat the payment with caution and don’t provide the service or goods, or refund the payment, until you are certain the cheque has cleared and credited your account.
• Never pre-sign blank cheques. When writing cheques, be sure to complete all sections leaving as little space as possible.
• We strongly recommend you use a dual authorisation process for all payments. This provides independent verification as at least two people can review the details.