Don’t fall for the direct deposit scam sweeping NJ businesses

⚠  There is a direct deposit scam going around New Jersey

⚠  Middlesex County authorities are warning residents

⚠  Scammers have an employee’s correct into to pull off the scheme

There is yet another scam to be aware of in New Jersey and this one involves direct deposit.

A bank deposit scam targeted several companies in Middlesex County at least three times in December. But this is a scam happening across the state.

In each instance, the employer received a request to change an employee’s direct deposit to a new account with an online bank, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

The scammers had all the correct information for each of the victims, including names, addresses, and social security numbers.

The Human Resources department at each of the targeted companies also received an email request to change the direct deposit account.

The direct deposit change requests were made, and payments were sent to the new bank accounts, where the funds were quickly withdrawn.

While these spoofed emails had the display name of the employee, the actual email could easily be identified as fraudulent, authorities said.

An example of the email address would be johndoe@xyz2233.com instead of johndoe@employer.com.

There was a nature of urgency attached to each request

“It is our strong recommendation that any future employee direct deposit requests have a two-factor review regarding the email account that sends the request AND physical confirmation to be made with the employee, preferably in person but also through a verified phone number for the employee,” prosecutors said.

Workers should monitor their scheduled payments and notify their employer and law enforcement if their payment account has been altered without their knowledge or approval.

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