The payment request looks familiar. Verify it anyway.
Respond when a message changes bank details, creates urgency or asks staff to skip normal approval.
Recognize the changed action
A familiar name or convincing logo does not establish that a payment instruction is genuine. Treat a new destination, unusual urgency or request to bypass normal approval as a reason to verify independently. Ask whether the requested action fits the agreed business process, not only whether the message looks professional.
Claritas teaches everyday digital safety through end-user training and IT support. The goal is a repeatable response before a pressured decision, rather than expecting everyone to recognize every fraudulent message by appearance.
Use a contact path you already trust
- Pause the transfer or account change while it is checked.
- Contact the supplier or colleague through an independently known channel, not a new number in the questionable message.
- Confirm the exact change with the person authorized to request it.
- Follow normal approval even if the message claims an exception.
- Report it to your designated contact so others can be warned appropriately.
Do not open an unexpected attachment simply to decide whether it is genuine. The FTC explains phishing approaches and independent verification. This is background guidance, not a diagnosis of a particular message or a statement of local reporting obligations.
Practise before an urgent request
Use a fictional invoice or approved example. Participants should show how they would verify an instruction, where to report it and who authorizes the next step. Never use a live payment as a training exercise.
Claritas can discuss suitable security sessions within its quarterly training programme in Cameroon and Gabon. Confirm the topic, language and delivery arrangements directly; this article does not announce an event date.
If someone already acted
Contact responsible finance and security support staff promptly through established channels. Preserve relevant messages and transaction references for authorized review without posting them publicly. Do not keep experimenting with an account or promise that a transfer can be recovered. A prepared reporting process helps the right people assess the situation.