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An email from the “boss” or a “supplier” asking for an urgent payment
“Urgent” requests for payments or data, from management or suppliers
At the office, one of the most expensive scams doesn’t break into anything — it tricks you into making a payment yourself, willingly. An email looks like it comes from a boss or a supplier and asks for something urgent, with pressure and discretion. The rule that saves you is simple: before you pay or change anything, confirm through another channel.
Warning signs
- A message “from the boss” or “from management” urgently asks for a payment, a transfer or data — and asks you to handle it “discreetly”.
- A “supplier” announces they have changed their bank account (IBAN) and asks for the next payment to go there.
- A tone that discourages checking: “I'm in a meeting, I can't talk, just take care of it”.
- The sender's real address is slightly different from your colleague's or the company's.
What to do
- Don't rush. Time pressure is their main tool.
- Check through another channel: call the person on a number you already know (not the one in the email) or ask them directly, face to face.
- Any change to a supplier's bank account (IBAN) gets confirmed by phone, with the supplier, before you pay.
- Report it to the IT/security team or to finance. Better to ask twice than to send the money to the wrong place.
Sources
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