Deloitte have warned of a rise in so called "CEO fraud." By using a fake identity, this scam consists in convincing the employee of a company to make an emergency bank transfer to a third party.

These type of frauds are created by well organised criminal organisations with a complete knowledge regarding the market, structure and customers of the companies they are attacking. This knowledge is used to give them all necessary arguments to convince their victim and act in the wanted direction.The fraudsters impersonate a group executive (e.g. the president, CEO, CFO) or a trusted partner (e.g. lawyers, notaries, auditors, accountants etc.) of the company. They contact a specific employee’s company by reaching a manager, an accounts payable clerk or any other employee they think useful to achieve their imposture.

The contact may be established by phone calls (imitating the voice) or emails (imitating the email address).

To be convincing, the fraudster will use a combination of the following elements:

• Use of authority: It is an order to do this
• Secrecy: This project is still secret and its success depends on this transaction
• Valorization: I count on you for your efficiency and discretion
• Pressure: The success of the project rests on your shoulders

Deloitte recommends the following prevention methods: