Charities and mandate fraud
28/01/2016
The Charity Commission issued a notice in January 2016 urging charities to review their financial controls to ensure that they do not fall victim to mandate fraud.
Under this type of fraud, organisations or people can be persuaded to change direct debits or standing orders to bank accounts controlled by fraudsters. The fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, impersonating an organisation representative either by email, direct mail or telephone communication. Fraudsters will typically use headed paper or the company logo to add credibility to their request.
The regulator advises that a request to change bank details is an unusual occurrence and should be treated with suspicion and should always be independently verified.
For further advice on preventing mandate fraud, please contact Elizabeth Irvine
