Neither internal nor external email are a secure method of communication for payment related information.  Even with email trails previously confirmed genuine, the latest message could have an amended trail or attachment which now includes a fraudulent bank account number, or contact phone number.

Independently verify requests to change bank account details or changes to contact details by calling on a number known to be correct for the genuine payment recipient.

Never provide online banking passwords or online payment authorisation codes on the phone, or in response to an email or text message.  A genuine Bank colleague will never ask you to divulge these.

The Bank will never ask you to move funds to a ‘safe’ account – if you receive a call asking for you to take this action, hang up immediately and contact your known contact at the Bank.

Don’t click on links within emails or texts, or open email attachments unless it’s known who’s sent the message and you can be sure it’s genuine.

Don’t give out sensitive information via phone, email or text, without verifying the person asking for that information. If necessary call them back using a number you know to be correct.

Ensure all PCs are protected by high-quality antivirus software and run frequent scans.  Always ensure software updates are actioned promptly and keep firewalls switched on. Back up your data regularly to a separate storage device.

Only download software to your PC from sources you trust and delete it when no longer needed.

1. Make sure all staff are trained to spot the common scams.  See the Banks Academy free online lessons - Lloyds / BoS

Our guides take a closer look at how scams work so you can protect your business and our training video lets you take part to test your knowledge. 

You can access this material via the link below.

Commercial banking fraud | Lloyds Bank