Friday Afternoon Cyber Frauds still Occur
The Friday Afternoon Fraud still occurs. This involves criminals modifying emails directly by hacking into the email system of an individual. By monitoring e-mails they can then determine when a deal is about to close. They then alter the client’s emails to the attorney or vice versa, altering bank routing instructions so funds go to the criminal. A variation is when the “boss” calls or emails the accounting department and orders them to send monies with little to no notice.
Such scams often take place on a Friday, as this is the time that deals often close, and the transfer of funds often take place. This also buys criminals additional time to avoid detection. Cybercriminals target law firms using this scam, with nearly one in ten attempts resulting in money stolen.
How to detect the Friday Afternoon Fraud or similar e-mail modification scams:
Law Firms, accounting firms and title agencies that hold large sums of client money are most at risk. Even for those who do not hold large amounts of client money, it is worth considering this risk. The following steps that help detect the Friday Afternoon Fraud will also work against other scams.
Basic Steps:
- confirm client and third party payment details, for example sending $1.00 to the account numbers provided and confirm receipt
- provide information to clients confirming that you will never ask to send money to a different account than that given
- be suspicious of requests to change payment details, in particular emails sent at the last minute when closing a time sensitive deal, make sure to confirm these instructions with the client on a previously known telephone number
- confirm that details for electronically transferring funds provided by a third-party lawyer are actually going to the party intended
- pick up the phone and call a previously known person and number verify the change request
These are not the only steps to take but it is a good start. It is worth noting that cybercrimes often start with hacking individuals voluntarily giving up logins and passwords. Ongoing training of staff is essential.
Make sure that you have the proper insurance coverage. Errors and omissions insurance policies provide little to no coverage for this type of fraud.
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Lee Norcross, MBA, CPCU
California License # 0D87292
L Squared Insurance Agency, LLC ® DBA in California as L2 L Squared Insurance Agency, License # 0L93416
Managing Director, CEO
Lee@L2Ins.com
616-726-7080
