NORWOOD, Ohio — Do you work at or own a small business?
Then you need to know about a sneaky new scam that gets you to send weekly paychecks somewhere else.
Lynn Meyers owns a delivery services company, United Courier, in Norwood.
She said she received an email from one of her employees asking that she re-direct his pay into his new bank account.
“So I get an email from Scott Laminack,” Meyers said. “Scott Laminack happens to be our general manager. And it said his next payroll should go into this account.”
Suspicious by how the email was written, Meyers walked into his office, which turned out to be a good thing.
“I walked down the hall and I said 'Are you doing something with your checking account?'” Meyers said. “And he says no!”
She was just moments from falling for what’s called the payroll diversion scam, targeting small businesses everywhere.
Luckily she was aware of it, having been targeted before.
‘This is why I know, I got caught once,” Meyers said.
Very easy to fall for in busy offices
Meyers admits she fell for the scam last year after getting an email from a different employee.
“I went ahead and changed everything, and on Saturday he calls me and asks is there something wrong with his paycheck,” Meyers said.
She had fallen for the scam, saying she was juggling multiple tasks when the email came in and did not question it. So she diverted his two-week paycheck to a new online bank account, which the scammer then closed as soon as he received the money.
This scam is so effective because the scammers know that many office managers are so busy that when they get an email like this they don’t question it and send the change request right through.
The payroll and HR firm ADP is now warning clients about it, saying to be cautious of all requests for bank account changes that originate via email. It says to speak with that worker in person, not via email or text.
Meyers, who lost a two-week paycheck to a scammer, and had to re-issue it, now wants to warn other small businesses.
“It’s so easy because we are so tied to our emails,” Meyers said.
So look closely at any email concerning personal information in the office, even if it appears to come from an employee you know.
That way you don’t waste your money.
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