Mandate fraud
Information about bank mandate fraud, things you should and shouldn't do.
On this page:
Examples of bank mandate fraud
In 2018/2019 UK businesses lost almost £100,000 million to Bank Mandate fraud.
The fraud takes place when someone gets in touch claiming to be from an organisation you pay regularly such as a supplier, membership or subscription service. They makes a request that a bank transfer mandate is changed.
After payment is made the fraud is complete. This crime is always changing and can be done online.
Examples of bank mandate fraud
1. Your online bank account is hacked into by a fraudster. Your monthly payment details are changed so that the money is transferred to the fraudsters account.
2. You are contacted by someone pretending to be from an organisation you have a standing order with. They request you change the order due to a change in their banking. The standing order mandate is changed and you are then wrongly giving them money.
Things you should do
Here are some things you should do to avoid being a victim.
- Check it twice or pay the price
- Check the senders email address to see if it is correct
- Make an 'Open Source' check on the internet of the new bank account sort code and account details to uncover: 1 - Location of the bank and check against the location of the company, and 2 - Whether there is any information available to suggest the communication is a scam
- Validate all requests for bank account changes using established contact details
- Never use any of the contact details contained within letters/emails received, whilst many email addresses appear genuine often there is a minor change
- If you are concerned about a call ask them to give you with a switchboard number or hang up and call them back using an established contact number
- Ask about the change of bank account details
- If the change looks genuine, ask the supplier to repeat the request. Ask them for the details of the previous and the new bank account details.
Things you shouldn't do
Here are some things you shouldn't do to avoid being a victim:
- Don’t leave sensitive files like bills lying around
- Details of standing orders and direct debits could be recorded by a visitor
- Don’t give out sensitive information over the phone, via email or in person to anyone that you are unsure of
- Fraudsters will put together snippets of information from different sources to allow them to commit fraud. This is known as ‘Elicitation’
- Don’t feel pressured to give out information
- Bank Mandate Frauds are often followed by a routine conversation followed by a switch in tempo and an urgent request. Nothing is so time critical that it can’t wait until you have verified who you are dealing with.
