Hire hijack attempt

Hire payments are attractive targets for fraudsters.  ITIC was advised by a Norwegian shipbroker who had managed to avoid an attempt to steal a monthly hire payment. The broker questioned a request to forward the hire to an account with revised payment details. The broker telephoned to check the details with the ship owner’s accounts department, who advised by return that they were not correct. Whilst ITIC appreciates that a large number of payments are processed by brokers and agents, changes to account details should always be treated with suspicion. There are very few legitimate changes to account details. The check should be made with a separate contact at the payee.