Payment redirection fraud is one of the most costly scams affecting South African businesses right now. The emails look completely legitimate, the amounts are real and by the time the fraud is discovered the money is usually gone.
How it works
A criminal gains access to either your email or your supplier's email and monitors the conversation. When a real invoice or payment request is about to be sent, they intercept it or send their own version with different banking details. The email comes from the correct name, references the right project and looks identical to what you would expect. The only difference is where the money goes.
The warning signs
Be suspicious any time banking details are different from what you have on file, even if the email looks completely normal. A real supplier changing their banking details should confirm it through a separate channel you can verify.
Watch the sender's email address carefully. The display name can say anything but the actual address behind it may have a subtle difference, an extra character, a different domain ending or a letter swapped for a number.
Urgency is a common tactic. Pressure to pay quickly before verifying details is a signal to slow down, not speed up.
One step that prevents most fraud
Before paying any invoice with different banking details, call the supplier on a number you already have. Not a number from the email. A two-minute phone call has stopped countless fraudulent payments.
If it has already happened
Contact your bank immediately. The sooner you act the better the chance of recovering the funds. Also report it to SABRIC, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre.
Proper email security reduces the risk of your accounts being compromised in the first place, which removes the opportunity for this type of fraud before it can happen. Awareness alone is not enough protection when the emails are convincing enough to fool experienced business owners.
When to get help
If you or anyone on your team has already acted on a suspicious payment email, contact your bank immediately and then your IT provider. Time is critical in these situations. Recloud helps businesses secure their email and implement the protections that prevent these attacks from succeeding.