COMPANY finance departments are being warned to watch out for a rise in supplier fraud.

The forensic team at accountants KPMG in the North West has seen an increase in the number of clients receiving official looking letters claiming to be from one of their suppliers.

The letters ask organisations to amend the supplier’s bank details, stating that all future payments should be sent to a new bank account whose details are shown in the letter.

However, the letters are not coming from suppliers but from fraudsters.

The fraudsters hope that the organisation then updates their files and payments are made to this fake account.

Martin Dougall, head of KPMG’s forensic team in the North West, said: “This is a troubling rise in what basically is an old-style fraud.

“Often, many businesses who have amended a supplier’s details do not realise there is a problem until they are chased for payment by that supplier. In one recent case we investigated, the attempted fraud was in excess of £1m.

“Being aware of the scam significantly helps to mitigate the risk.

“However, companies must ensure they take the necessary precautions.”