Council thwarts multi-million pound fraud attempt

Conwy County Borough Council has foiled an attempted £2.6m theft after a fraudster attempted to divert funds owed to a contractor to another bank account.

The North Wales Daily Post reports that a man called the council claiming to be working for contractors building sea defences at Colwyn Bay. He told the council the company’s bank account details had changed, and the council’s next payment – of £2.6m – needed to be into a different account.

The council’s head of audit and procurement Mike Halstead said: “Council officers became suspicious after they received a phone call telling them that a contractor’s bank account details had changed and were requested to make a payment to a new account. “Staff requested that the details be put in writing, and further investigated the letter they received, and passed the details on to the police. Council officers are used to spotting this kind of fraud, but the sum involved in this instance is unusual.”