CEO fraud and the changed account number

An email from the boss or a regular supplier: "Our account number has changed." Businesses lose thousands of euros this way.

1How they do it

1. Scammers secretly read along in a hacked mailbox, or create an address that is almost the same.
2. At the right moment they send an email: an invoice with a new account number, or an urgent request from the director.
3. They ask for secrecy: "It's about a takeover, don't tell anyone."
4. The money goes to an account abroad and is quickly gone.

2A real example

"From: Peter (CEO) <peter@uwbedrijf-group.com> I'm in a meeting. Pay 18,400 euros to this lawyer today. Confidential."

3How to spot it

• A new account number in an email.
• A sender that is almost, but not quite, right (one extra letter, a different domain).
• Secrecy and haste.

4How to protect yourself

• Whenever an account number changes, call the supplier on a number you already had.
• Always have large payments approved by two people.
• Protect mailboxes with a second step, not just a password.

Suspicious number, email or website? Check it or report it.

Examples have been made unrecognisable. Names and numbers in the examples are made up.

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