Don’t fall prey to CEO fraud

Even companies the size of Facebook have fallen for CEO fraud, says David Prosser. Make sure your business doesn't get caught out.

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Those emails weren't really from Mark Zuckerberg
(Image credit: Jennifer Leahy)

Two of the world's largest online businesses have become the latest victims of "CEO fraud", in which crooks pose as senior executives of a business and order more junior members of staff in finance or accounts to make payments to another company. Google and Facebook said last week that they had both been caught out by a scam thought to be worth as much as £77m, though both companies have recouped at least some of their losses.

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David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.