The police said they had seen a significant increase in this kind of situation in different parts of the country.

Some businesses have received instructions that their supplier’s bank account details have changed and are given a new IBAN than usual to transfer the funds for their payments, often for large amounts.

The `modus operandi´ of this kind of activity normally means the crooks have managed to intercept communications between the parties involved and then create email accounts that are very similar to the real ones and pretend they are the suppliers so they can send the false IBAN.

Many businesses only realise something is wrong when their suppliers tell them they have not been paid.