UK police warn of fake university fraud

UK companies are being swindled out of hundreds of thousands of pounds by fraudsters posing as universities.

City of London Police say that the criminals are registering domains to create email addresses that look very similar to legitimate university accounts at first glance – such as xxxuk-ac.org or xxxacu-uk.org – and placing high-value orders with suppliers of goods such as IT equipment and pharmaceutical chemicals. One the victims has lost £350,000 as a result of the fraud.

The scam – known as European Distribution Fraud – works as follows. Suppliers will receive an email claiming to be from a university, requesting a quotation for goods on extended payment terms. Once the quotation has been provided, a purchase order is emailed to the supplier that is similar to a real university purchase order. The purchase order typically instructs delivery to an address, which may or may not be affiliated with the university. The items are then received by the criminals before being moved on, however no payment is received by the supplier.

“This type of fraud can have a serious impact on businesses. This is why it’s so important to spot the signs and carry out all the necessary checks, such as verifying the order and checking any documents for poor spelling and grammar,” said the force’s director of action fraud Pauline Smith.

 “We know that there is a lack of reporting by affected companies and without this vital intelligence, a true picture of EDF cannot be reflected.”