
ALERT ABOUT PAYMENT DIVERSION FRAUD
January 2025
This bulletin has been produced by the Joint Practice Group (JPG). The JPG is made up of representatives of the professional accountancy bodies, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Accountants Ireland, Association of International Accountants, and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants with input from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and FIU Ireland. The aim of this publication is to remind professional accountants and their staff to exercise continued vigilance in the face of payment diversion fraud.
Members are reminded that payment diversion fraud is still a significant threat to business and members and their staff must educate and protect themselves and their business from such fraud.
FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), show that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lost almost €10m (€9.9m) through email-related fraud in 2023, including invoice-redirection and CEO impersonation scams with BPFI saying they have seen a jump of almost 25% (23.8%) in email-related fraud targeted at SMEs in 2023.
Please click here to access Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) Advice on Invoice Redirect Fraud issued in 2020 and here to access a series of press releases issued by GNECB FIU Ireland during Fraud Awareness Week 2022. The press releases deal with what is and how to avoid business e mail compromise fraud, bribery and corruption, investment fraud, accommodation fraud and account takeover fraud.
Disclaimer
This document is for information purposes only and does not give, or purport to give, professional or legal advice to be relied upon in respect of the subject matter contained herein. It should, accordingly, not be relied upon as such. No party should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any material contained in this document without seeking appropriate professional advice. The authors nor any member of the JPG do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained in this document. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the authors nor any member of the JPG shall not therefore be liable for any damage or loss, including but not limited to, indirect or consequential loss or damage, income, profit, or opportunity and claims of third parties, whether arising from the negligence, or otherwise of the members of the JPG, their employees, servants, or agents, or of the authors who contributed to the text. This document should not be used as a substitute for professional legal advice.