Gardaí have arrested a man in relation to suspected invoice re-direct fraud in Kerry.
The fraud began in mid-2019 when an organisation received an email from an email address claiming to be a company who they do regular business with.
The email requested that payment of an outstanding invoice be directed to a new account.
The business transferred over €8,000 to the new account before realising that this was fraudulent.
Earlier this week Gardaí from the Kerry Division arrested a man, aged in his 20s.
He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 and has since been released. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Crime Prevention Officer for the Kerry Division, Sergeant Jim Foley said that every business, big or small, should treat a request to change bank account details with extreme caution.
If you receive an email requesting payment to a different account, it may look genuine.
However, he said you should always pick up the phone to your supplier or vendor to verbally confirm the request details.
Also remember to ring a number you know to be from the company, do not ring the number stated in the email request.
Sgt Foley said that it may seem like routine task for a finance department, but it is imperative that a business has these steps in place. He asked that if any business has been a victim of such fraud, it report it to An Garda Síochána immediately.
