The [email protected] email address was compromised at 5:00am, Wednesday 12 October 2022. It was secured as of 11:00am, Thursday 13 October 2022.
If you are a current WACOSS debtor, have been issued an invoice by WACOSS or are expecting an invoice from WACOSS in the near future then you could become the target of a scam.
It is possible that you may receive, or you may have already received, email(s) from that email address or similar looking email addresses pretending to be finance at WACOSS.
Examples of what these email addresses could look like:
These email(s) may request that you, or your finance department, immediately process outstanding payments to a separate bank account citing changed processes, bank account details or an urgent audit as the reason. They could also request you to update WACOSS’s bank details on your end so that any future payments are processed to a separate bank account.
Please ignore those emails and contact us directly to confirm our bank details and invoice number before making any outstanding payments.
This kind of scam is commonly known as a Payment Redirection Scam. Please be vigilant for the next few weeks.
What steps have we taken?
- Our finance email box has been reset and all current logins deactivated
- The password has been reset
- Computers used by our finance person have been scanned for viruses/malware/backdoors
- All our current debtors have been contacted to explain the incidence and how to prevent the scam from propagating
What is a Payment Redirection Scam?
Payment redirection scams involve scammers impersonating a business or its employees via email and requesting an upcoming payment be redirected to a fraudulent account. In some cases, scammers hack into a legitimate email account and pose as the business, intercepting legitimate invoices and amending the bank details before releasing emails to the unsuspecting business. Other times, scammers impersonate people using a registered email address that is very similar to one from a legitimate business. You can read more about payment redirection scams here.
Please contact Alenka on [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
