Scammers are targeting insurance payments

With the volume of payments being made by insurers, especially following the recent flooding and cyclone events, it is inevitable that these will be the target of scammers. There are two main issues to be aware of:

Invoice Scams

In this scenario, hackers compromise the email accounts of legitimate trade businesses and modify invoices being sent to clients, substituting their bank account details in place of the real ones.

You can limit the chances of this happening to you by ensuring your email and network security are up to date, using two factor authentication and training staff on what to look out for (eg. not clicking on links in emails). There are many online resources to help with this.

Also, it is good practice to confirm by phone with a supplier that their bank account details are correct before making payments. You could provide your customers with your bank account details in hard copy when the contract is signed and advise them to check that against their invoices before making any payment.

Bogus Trade Services

In this case, scammers pose as tradespeople and offer to repair properties at cheap rates and without having to wait. They will often ask for an upfront payment and then do a shoddy job, or no job at all.

You can help your local community by highlighting this issue and encouraging them to use qualified tradespeople, request written quotes, use written contracts and check references.