Scam of the Week: Invoice Approved, Scam Confirmed

Scam of the Week: Invoice Approved, Scam Confirmed

You're at work when an email arrives that appears to come from your CEO or another executive, asking you to pay an invoice. The email includes a forwarded annual subscription invoice with bank transfer instructions and an email conversation between the executive and the vendor. It seems real, so you may be inclined to pay it.

But this email is actually a phishing scam, and both the invoice and the forwarded conversation are fake! Cybercriminals target many organizations with these emails by impersonating both the executive and the vendor. Cybercriminals hope the email and invoice look real enough that you'll pay without stopping to think. But if you make this payment, the money goes to a bank account controlled by the cybercriminals!

Follow these tips to avoid this executive phishing scam: 

• Confirm any payment request with the sender by phone or in person, using contact information you already know is real.
• Follow your organization's payment approval process for every invoice, no matter who appears to approve it.
• Report any unexpected email that asks for a large sum of money, no matter who sent it, by following your organization's procedures.

Stop, Look, and Think. Don't be fooled.