Computer World Wales alerts channel to fraud attempt

VAR Computer World Wales has warned the channel to be on its guard after thwarting an attempt by fraudsters to hijack its brand name.

Fraudsters posing as the Cardiff-based reseller attempted to order £12,000 of Microsoft OEM software from Computer 2000 on Friday.

The distributor delivered the stock to Computer World Wales’ office, rather than the stated delivery address near Brighton, because it did not recognise the name on the purchase order and became suspicious.

The fraudsters had included the VAR’s logo, account number and address on the purchase order. They had also set up a domain name that was similar to that of Computer World Wales' and had bought a Cardiff-based phone number.

Shaune Parsons, managing director of Computer World Wales, said he had contacted the police but had so far received no response and wanted to make other resellers and distributors aware.

“It is day three and we are still waiting for the police to arrive," he told CRN last night.

The VAR has also alerted its ISP, which blocked the bogus domain and is currently cross-referencing the credit card details and address used by the fraudsters.

Mark Ancell, head of intelligence at credit reference agency Graydon UK, said the number of company hijacking attempts in the IT channel has risen sharply to 10-12 a month since the start of the recession. “We have seen a marked increase in it,” he said.

Graydon UK managing director Martin Williams added that the police are unlikely to follow up small-scale fraud attempts meaning that “credit managers are very much on their own”.

Tell-tale signs on application forms include mobile rather than fixed telephone numbers and non-company email addresses, he said. Willliams also advised distributors to validate delivery addresses and VAT numbers and view homepages to check they look authentic.

“Companies in the channel should never cut corners,” he cautioned.