« Hi Susan, it’s Gene. Sorry for calling after hours, but I’m travelling. Can you please transfer $35,000 from our business checking account to a new supplier for a deposit on a job? Here’s their banking info… »
Does this sound like a familiar scenario? It should. It’s not uncommon for the owner of a business to call a financial manager and instruct for a money transfer or online payment to be made to a supplier or to a personal account. Is anyone going to question the boss’ request? Usually not.
But what if it’s not the boss? What if it was just someone impersonating the boss? Or, more ominously, what if it was the actual voice of the boss, but manipulated into saying something different? Or that the request was for $35 million?