GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED a man in relation to suspected invoice re-direct fraud in Co 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.

On 26 July, 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.

“Every business, big or small, should treat a request to change bank account details with extreme caution,” Crime Prevention Officer for the Kerry Division, Sergeant Jim Foley said.

If you receive an email requesting payment to a different account, it may look genuine.

However, 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.

“It may seem like routine task for your finance department, but it is imperative that a business has these steps in place – it has to be a part of your businesses process for changing accounts,” Foley said.

“A loss of money can put a company out of business and make people unemployed. It can also result in loss of revenue for the local community. If you have been a victim of such fraud, reported it to An Garda Síochána immediately.”