Phone scammers are targeting your work number

Statistics show that phone scams happen very often. Out of those scams, around 65-70% are international with just one-third of the fraud coming from domestic criminals. This is a considerable risk and problem for not only individuals but also businesses. The latter are facing an ever-increasing risk of becoming prey and victim of phone scammers who are becoming more and more vigilant and well-organised.

A story about a bank

Not so long ago, but a bit before the internet revolution took over (so around 2004-2005) one Scandinavian bank received a call from a man. He introduced himself as a representative of a large company, a client of the bank and started asking various generic questions about large transactions. He explained the situation: the company is mulling over purchasing a new subsidiary abroad. The bank representative answered the questions to the man who claimed to be the new business development manager. He was trying to know about how to execute a massive money transfer of 20-30 million US dollars to a foreign account. How quickly it could be done, what documents were needed etc.

Over the course of four weeks, the same man called numerous times and started earning the trust of bank employees. He organised a future transaction for an undisclosed date sometime towards the end of the year. This was a time around Christmas, the last day before the Holidays. However, suddenly the man called again and urged to transfer the money today because if not done today, the operation would have to be moved into the following fiscal year, which was unacceptable. Trusting the man completely, the bank representative wired around 30 million USD to a Swiss bank account.

After the Holidays everyone from the company was surprised to see a massive deficit in the bank account. As it turned out, a past employee from the financial division carried out a colossal telephone scam. He was never heard from again, and the traces of money were never found.

Be extra cautious if you work with accounting, payroll management

If anything, this type of story should teach some of us to be extra careful. For people who work in accounting or manage transactions, phone scams are highly dangerous. Not only social engineering or con artists pose a threat but hackers too.

Always double-check or check with your superiors to execute a larger money transaction. Never trust someone just over the phone call; make sure to get the proper documentation also. Using a satellite antenna and a few easily obtainable cell blocking devices, one could pretend to be a very different person than he or she is.

Did you know that fraudulent phone calls cost companies more than 650 million USD every year? Through these phone calls, people usually contact unsuspecting accountants or payroll managers. They pretend to be an employee or an outside contractor which did not receive payment for their services. They can provide an invoice or state various reassuring facts, but they could be scams. Once again, you can begin by carrying out an individual reverse phone lookup. Check the number, maybe the fraudster is using the same telephone ID to scam various firms. Also, contact the proper members within your organisation to get confirmation about the services and an unfulfilled payment. Proceed only after everything clears out. Do not let yourselves be pressured. One comment at the free reverse phone lookup site, indicating that there is even a slight possibility of fraud should be enough to raise your suspicion.

Why reverse phone lookup?

This tool is vital because these service providers have arguably the most extensive databases for phone numbers. With millions of numbers and thousands of comments about the identity of the caller from those who experienced contact first-hand, sites like whocallingyou.com can save individuals and companies from a financial fiasco.

Moreover, remember that the world is not going to end if you take your time and transfer the money only after the proper documentation is gathered. Phone scammers will try to pressure you to execute the operation right now. This is an additional helpful tip for preventing phone scams in your work. If the caller is trying to get payment done right now and is very irritated and pressures to have no delays, always check their number!