Simple checks to defeat fraudsters

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) said ship brokers and agents are among those most at risk of exposure to fraud in the shipping industry and has urged them to carry out simple checks to protect themselves. ITIC cites the case of a ship broker that received an emailed freight invoice from an owner for US$120,000. The bank account detailed was the same as that previously used by the owner but, several hours later, a further email was received, apparently from the owner, advising a change to the details because the original bank account was “no longer available to receive payment due to an internal audit”.