A Tale of Two Council scams

Last month I saluted the vigilance of Conwy County Borough Council who were able avoid falling victim of a £2.6m scam.  The scam, which has been doing the rounds of councils for three years, involves a villain identifying a construction contractor where stage payments are likely to be made, masquerading as the contractor, contacting the council and informing the council that there is a change of the contractors account details. Then the council make the changes for the next payment and off into the horizon walks a better off villain. A Conwy spokesperson said it was a

well-documented style of fraud which the council is used to spotting.

Somehow Belfast City Council have fallen victim of the very same scam to the tune of £400k.

I wonder what precautions your organisation are putting in place to avoid falling victim of the same scam? You have been warned.