Australia
Communication shared with all UK contacts on 18 December 2020 but still remains relevant today.
Important update from Insight: protecting your online security
Dear Stakeholder
Given the notable increase in phishing attempts in 2020, and the fact that the financial industry has been targeted the most over the 3 months to end November, we would like to take this opportunity to remind you of the importance of protecting your online security and that of your organisation.
Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to impersonate legitimate businesses using fraudulent email domains, fake websites and social media accounts, brand misuse (including cloning of materials), the impersonation of your legitimate business contacts and deceptive telephone calls.
This type of fraud is very prevalent in the investment industry and has become increasingly sophisticated so we would like to alert you to recent cases that have come to our attention.
We understand that professional contacts have been targeted by fraudsters. These criminals have gained access to client email systems and then use fake email accounts to engage in impersonation fraud by replicating the identities of legitimate business contacts. The goal of this activity is to intercept discussions relating to pending transactions and attempt to redirect funds to an alternative bank account at the point when a transaction is being completed.
At first glance, email addresses, websites and social media accounts may well be plausible and appear to be legitimate. Please be alert to the security of your systems to ensure that they are not compromised and stay alert to the very real risk of online and impersonation fraud.
We will never ask you to change bank account details when contributions are made to your Insight portfolio. If you receive an unexpected communication supposedly from Insight Investment, please exercise caution, do not share information or remit funds. If you are in any way suspicious about any communication that you receive, please do not hesitate to contact us directly to verify its legitimacy.
Our information risk colleagues investigate all reports of attempted fraud and we have established processes to share information with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Action Fraud. There are notices on our websites and social media accounts drawing attention to the risks.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Insight team. We will be more than happy to assist you.