Irish small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lost over €17m in the last two years through email-related scams.

According to new figures released by the fraud awareness initiative FraudSMART led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), fraud cost SME's €17.4m over 24 months.

The average loss for each business was in the region of €11,500 with the most common scam being invoice redirection.

This is when the fraudsters posing as a legitimate business claim to have moved to a new bank account and ask for their payment details to be updated for future invoices.

When a legitimate invoice is issued by the supplier at a later date, the business ends up paying it into the ‘new account’ controlled by the fraudster.

FraudSMART has now teamed up with the Irish SME Association (ISME) to launch a fraud awareness campaign, spearheaded by business owner and former Irish rugby international Tommy Bowe.

Niamh Davenport, Head of Financial Crime, BPFI commented: “The level of scams targeting Irish businesses is very concerning with FraudSMART members seeing average losses in the region of €11,500.

"These scams are not only financially damaging but can also seriously undermine trust within a business.

"The majority of cases we are seeing are invoice-redirection scams, with losses of €15.7 million between January 2023 and December 2024.

"These scams often start with what appears to be a legitimate email from a supplier known to the business, but which has been hacked or closely copied by fraudsters.

"They usually don’t request any payment upfront but claim to have moved to a new bank account and ask for their payment details to be updated for future invoices.

"When a legitimate invoice is issued by the supplier at a later date, the business ends up paying it into the ‘new account’ controlled by the fraudster.

"CEO impersonation scams, which accounted for losses of €1.7m during the same period, can be even more deceptive where fraudsters impersonate a company’s senior executive in order to convince an employee to disclose sensitive information or make an unauthorised financial transaction.”

It also emerged that more than two thirds of SMEs have been targeted with scams in the last 12 months but almost a third have no fraud awareness guidelines and training programmes in place for employees.

Ms Davenport added: “According to a recent survey we conducted with ISME, more than two-thirds (68%) of SMEs have been targeted with scams within the past twelve months and 89% of these businesses report being targeted through email.

"However, while the vast majority of businesses have some security measures in place, such as verification processes for new bank account details (94%), almost a third (31%) of businesses do not have specific fraud awareness guidelines and training programmes for employees.”

Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME, said: "These findings emphasise just how exposed SMEs are to financial fraud.

"This is not a marginal issue – it’s a major business risk.

"While it’s encouraging to see that many are putting some fraud prevention measures in place, we need to ensure this becomes standard across all small businesses.

"Employees in particular are often the ones targeted by fraudsters and therefore have a key role to play at the frontline of fraud prevention.

"I urge all SMEs to put training in place to ensure their workforce, at every level of the business, are constantly aware of current fraud risks and how to avoid falling victim to scammers.

"FraudSMART provides a free guide with information and tips on business fraud and that’s a good place to start.”

As part of the fraud awareness campaign a series of short videos offering practical fraud prevention tips are being released through social media over the coming weeks.

Tommy Bowe explained: “I understand the daily demands of running a small business in Ireland, especially in the current economic climate, but fraud prevention measures cannot be put on the long finger. 

"We are particularly vulnerable because we often have fewer resources and lower financial buffers to withstand losses, so I am urging business owners to stop and think about the processes that they have in place.

"It doesn’t have to be complicated – a few simple checks can make all the difference. In our business, we have a policy that no large payment gets approved without a verbal confirmation.

"That might mean picking up the phone to a colleague or calling the supplier directly using a trusted number – just taking that extra step to speak to someone can stop a scam in its tracks.”