Fraud Alert

21 June 2016

Issued by Kent County Council Counter Fraud Team.

We have been made aware that a number of schools in Kent have been subject to attempted ‘Mandate Frauds’.

Mandate fraud involves a fraudster redirecting payments from the school’s bank account. For example:

  • obtaining a school’s bank account details and setting up a false direct debit, standing order or bank transfer
  • obtaining details of a school’s suppliers and then contacting the school asking for the supplier’s bank details to be change to an account controlled by the fraudster.

Schools need to be vigilant by:

  • not leaving things like bills lying around for others to look at and record details of standing orders and direct debits
  • always verify changes to financial arrangements with the organisation directly using established contact details, never use the contact details provided on the letter, email or by the caller
  • calling back, using main switchboard numbers or established contact details, if there are concerns about the source of a telephone call
  • checking email addresses carefully against the known address - do not assume an email is correct because it appears genuine, type email and web addresses into the address box directly, do not click on links embedded in any suspicious emails
  • checking bank statements carefully and reporting anything suspicious to your financial institution and KCC’s Counter Fraud Team.

Kent County Council Internal Audit must be notified of all financial irregularities affecting maintained schools. You can report irregularities or seek advice by calling the Counter Fraud Team on 03000 41 45 00 or by emailing: