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The CEO and Man In The Middle fraud are two of the most common phishing attacks, so here's how to avoid and detect them.The most common digital fraud in companies include those related to phishing, a type of cybercrime that consists of fraudulently acquiring confidential information, such as account passwords or bank card information. Within phishing, there are two new types that are becoming particularly popular among cybercriminals, especially in holiday seasons: the CEO and the Man In The Middle scam. 

This article explains what they are and offers a series of tips on how to avoid them.

What is CEO fraud? 

The CEO fraud is the use of an identity of someone with authority in a company, such as the chief financial officer (CFO) or chief executive officer (CEO), to try to defraud employees who have access to the company's accounts or other relevant assets. Using this fraud, the criminal tries to get money transferred or obtain confidential information from the organisation that can be used to his or her benefit.

One of the most common ways in which this CEO fraud occurs is through the registration of a company's website domain that is very similar to the real one. Then, the criminal sends an email to someone with a position of authority within the company, pretending to be someone in charge, asking them to urgently and confidentially send a certain amount of money to an account controlled by the cybercriminal.

What is the Man In The Middle fraud?

The Man In The Middle attack involves the criminal intercepting the communication between two people connected to a network. This allows them to obtain highly confidential information (such as bank details or the victim's physical address) that will later facilitate the phishing of either person, so that they can ask the CFO of the company to make a payment to them.

Typically, in a Man In The Middle fraud, criminals will use email address phishing of a company's suppliers to divert payments to a fraudulent account. It can also happen the other way round: spoofing a customer's email address to divert their charges to a fraudulent account. 

Tips to avoid becoming a victim of a CEO or Man In The Middle phishing attack

In order to avoid becoming a victim of a cyberattack, the most important recommendation is to be cautious. If you have any doubts about a request you receive informing you of a new subscription account, the best thing to do is not to trust it. Remember that Banco Sabadell will never request confidential data from you by text message, email or phone call, nor will we request that you transfer your funds to a secure account.

In addition, we recommend that you follow other tips to minimise the chance of suffering any of these frauds, such as:

• First, always check email addresses, paying special attention to any differences that you may notice in the email.

• Check by a different method other than email (such as the bank's app) any change in the direct debit of a payment suddenly and without prior warning.

• So, if you receive an email informing you that there has been a change in the account to which a payment has been sent, you will usually receive a simultaneous phone call from the impersonator to confirm the fraudulent activity. Never trust any such call and always check the authenticity of the exchange by contacting the supplier on the telephone number originally given to you.

• The first time you make a transaction with a new supplier, always confirm that the details of the payee and the bank address for payment are identical to those included in the previously established contract or on the order form and that there are no changes.

• Remember never to share your passwords or your company's passwords with anyone so as not to allow them to be compromised. 

• It is crucial to inform a company's employees about the possible fraudulent activity that they may be exposed to, especially in relation to being cautious when they are required to make a payment.

• And it is important for any company to implement internal protocols for verifying payment requests received by telephone or email. 

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio at Pexels
 

Financial consulting can be used to analyse and improve a company's processes from a different perspective, which can be a decisive factor in its growth. Increasing a company's capacity for foresight and planning is one of the many benefits that financial consulting can offer. 

Why is it important for my company to have expert consulting?

Numbers don't lie, and according to Spain's National Institute of Statistics (INE), almost a quarter of companies created in Spain do not survive their first twelve months, while around another 15% do not make it past the second year. Professional consulting can play a decisive role among the key factors to not only face the early stages of a company's journey with a greater chance of success, but also to be able to grow in the long term and achieve strategic objectives.

The power of foresight in the business world

A forward-looking strategy helps companies to:

• Identify potential problems and challenges early on.
• Be more flexible to market changes and adapt better to them.
• Develop an action plan that includes and responds to identified risks.
• Transform potential risks into potential business opportunities.

Having the right professional and specialised consulting is essential for a company to anticipate more efficiently when it comes to identifying and analysing potential risks. As part of its commitment to companies, Banco Sabadell's 360º Visit is a cornerstone of its relationship model. 

During the visit, the Business Managers meet with the directors of each company to analyse how the organisation is evolving, how the past financial year went, what the expectations are for the next one and what future initiatives they plan to implement.

The 360° Visit should be a conversation to work together with the same objectives and to share:

• The company's reality and an analysis of its medium- and long-term financial and non-financial forecasts, such as its investment or protection plans, among others.
• The company's needs for future operations based on its projects.  
• A common strategy to strengthen the relationship between the bank and the company.

The Business Manager will contact you at the beginning of the year to arrange the 360° Visit. Besides your Business Manager, you may be approached by other specialists, such as the International Business Manager or the Insurance Manager, for example.

The Business Director shares the 360° Vision document during these visits, which shows relevant and valuable information for the company and its sector. During the 360° Visit, they share which solutions can help the company manage its finances, investments and growth strategies, and provide services that help them make informed decisions. The aim is also to analyse how to tackle new challenges such as sustainability, where Banco Sabadell is a key driver in the move towards a more sustainable economy.

These solutions can help companies to:

• Optimise their cash flow management and payment and collection management, including financing their working capital and foreign trade or insurance to cover their client portfolio.
• Identify and manage financial risks or those associated with international trade by developing hedging strategies. 
• Analyse opportunities in the financial markets by establishing investment and portfolio management strategies.
• Develop their business plans and growth strategies, advising and accompanying them in their expansion into new markets or new lines of business.

Banco Sabadell also supports growing companies with specialised financing operations, typical of middle market, either acting alone or in pool with other credit institutions. 

Every company is a special case, which means that each one has a set of specific needs that must first be understood before they can be addressed. Banco Sabadell can provide a specialised and personalised advisory service to align with the objectives of each company and offer solutions that can turn each challenge into a business opportunity.

And as always, if you are a customer, you can access the Support area on BSOnline and find your manager's details and contact them whenever you need to.

Visiting trustworthy websites and being wary of emails with suspicious-looking links will mean a more secure online shopping experience.

Shopping online is quick, easy and convenient. Having immediate access to digital services has substantially improved our lives, but it has also meant the proliferation of a wide range of scams. It is important to keep abreast of the different types of Internet fraud we might fall victim to, as we will be better equipped to protect ourselves, and to follow a series of recommendations.

Below we explain the key points to make your online shopping experience as secure and pleasurable as possible.

Security tips for your online purchases

With some simple recommendations, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to an online scam. Here are some of the most important:

• Be wary of unrealistic offers. Don’t blindly trust in e-commerce sites that attempt to sell products far below their market price. For example, if you find that €2,000 camera that you’ve had your eye on for a sale price of just €400, don’t be tempted, as it might just be a scam.

• Beware of offers that come to you by email, WhatsApp or other channels if you haven’t requested them. If it turns out to be a scam, it might inject a virus or malware in your device if you should happen to click on the links included in these messages. For example, if you click on an infected link, the criminal might then hack your account or steal your identity. If you do receive a suspicious message, we recommend ignoring it and deleting it immediately without clicking on the link it contains.  

• Keep informed to avoid falling victim to a ‘ghost’ company. Make sure that the e-commerce site you want to buy from has a telephone and a postal address which you can contact in case of problems.

• Read other users’ opinions. Be wary of e-commerce sites with 100% positive opinions and also those which you don’t find any information about on the Internet.

• Keep your antivirus updated. Always having an updated version of your antivirus is very important in online shopping, both on your computer and your phone. In this regard, it is also a good idea to have the operating systems on your devices updated to their latest version.

• Never make a purchase connected from a public Wi-Fi network. You should always make purchases from your own network or from places where you have the utmost trust in the person or institution which is providing the Wi-Fi connection you are operating through.

• Secure URLs. In e-commerce portals, it is crucial that there be a padlock in the browser bar. Click on the padlock and make sure that the address is written properly. 

Discover the keys to your most secure digital banking

Your bank card, a security guarantee

Along with these recommendations, your Banco Sabadell card is also a great ally for enhanced security in your online purchases.

Whenever you need to, you can deactivate your card from being able to make online payments. To deactivate this option, view “your cards” in the Banco Sabadell app, select the one you want to switch off, and in the bottom menu, within “Settings”, you will find the option “Do you want to use your card online?”. With a simple tap you can turn off this option and turn it back on when you want.

In shopping with EMV Chip, your PIN will be requested to reduce the risk of fraud, thanks to its cardholder validation system.

In contactless payments, we will ask for your PIN for purchases that exceed a predetermined amount.

You can adjust the limits on your card for purchases and cash withdrawals.

In the case of suspected loss or theft of your card, you can switch it off temporarily from the Banco Sabadell app. What’s more, if we detect certain unusual patterns or transactions, we will get in touch with you immediately.

Are you having trouble using your card for online purchases? Find out why at our help centre.