By: Ruth King
“Our remittance address has changed”
If you ever get this email immediately call your supplier.
It probably hasn’t changed and your supplier got hacked.
The controller for a contractor got this email…they sent the payment to the new address and got scammed for $50,000!
Embezzlers are very sneaky. They get the logos, signatures, email addresses, and names of people in the accounting department. They’ve hacked their system to know the email addresses of the supplier’s customers.
They send an email that looks exactly like one that you would receive from the accounting department of your supplier.
They give you a new address, routing number, etc. which goes to their bank account…not your supplier bank account.
Even worse, there is a phone number at the bottom of the email. Your bookkeeper calls the number and verifies that the change has been made – except it is the embezzler’s phone number and your bookkeeper is talking with the embezzler!
You send the payment to the embezzler.
You find out that you’ve been scammed when your supplier calls asking why you haven’t paid your bill!
Please…give your bookkeeper and everyone in your accounting department a copy of this article. Make sure they know to never accept an email notification for payment changes…or any other payment requests.
If they get an email they should tell you. Then you, please call your supplier, at their real phone number. Talk to a person you know. Make sure the change is legitimate.
Ruth King is known globally as the “Profitability Master,” and is a a thought leader in entrepreneurship and business. Her books have been recognized as among the greatest in numerous industries. Learn more about all her business activities here.
