In a further follow up to the article last week about fraudulent emails, we ask all clubs to remain vigilant with regards to “phishing” emails.
There have been a number of clubs that have reported being targeted, with at least one resulting in a financial loss.
The pattern seems to be that they get the name of the Treasurer and someone else on the committee (presumably from the club website) and then write to the Treasurer asking them to pay a bill (examples include the fraudulent email purporting to be from the Bridge Warehouse), or transfer money. They give some payment details (including sort code and account number), and then sign the email as being from the other club official.
Please ensure all committee members, especially Treasurers, are familiar with the potential signs of a fraudulent email. Please think twice about making any payments, and always check if these payments are expected before proceeding. Once a payment has been made via bank transfer the bank can do very little to stop or reverse the payment.
There can be lots of tell-tale signs that it isn't genuine, although easy to miss if you are not vigilant. Some signs the email may not be genuine are:
- URL links within the email do not match genuine websites (hover over the link without clicking on it to check it)
- The return email address is different from the sender
- Poor spelling and grammar
- The email asks for personal information or payment
If you have any concerns regarding emails received from the EBU please contact us directly. Any suspicious emails should be reported to Action Fraud.
June 10, 2019