This suspected fraud involves finance administrators being contacted by someone purporting to be a senior manager asking for their bank details, or the details of suppliers, to be updated.

The Commission has also recently been made aware of instances of suspected fraudulent requests to update customer details so that goods can be ordered, despatched to a false address and then stolen.

Public and private organisations have both been subject to this fraud threat. As the new independent regulator of Northern Ireland charities, the Charity Commission is keen that charities are aware of, and take reasonable precautions against it.

The Commission advises charities to be vigilant when dealing with any such payroll change requests. Preventative measures can also be taken. We, for example, suggest that:

• charities have appropriate procedures in place for authenticating and approving supplier change requests before effecting them;
• charities scrutinise all requests for changes in payment and payroll details, no matter how minor;
• as part of standard procedures, suppliers should be independently contacted by charities to verify that any change of bank details or contact details is genuine.

If you have any queries on this issue please contact the Charity Commission on any of the ways listed below.

Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
257 Lough Road
Lurgan
Craigavon
BT66 6NQ

Tel: 028 3832 0220

Fax: 028 3834 5943

TextPhone: 028 3834 7639

ENDS