An email arrives during a busy afternoon: a vendor has changed banks, a client needs a payment redirected, or a familiar contact sends revised instructions. The thread looks normal. The request feels urgent.<\/p>\n
That is exactly when an Orlando law firm needs a process that does not depend on whether a message \u201clooks right.\u201d Payment instructions deserve independent verification even when the sender\u2019s name is familiar and the message appears inside an existing conversation.<\/p>\n
The FBI describes business email compromise as fraud involving apparently legitimate requests from known sources. Attackers may imitate an address or gain access to real correspondence. FBI business email compromise guidance<\/a><\/p>\n The following workflow is a practical starting point for firm administrators and IT providers. It does not replace your firm\u2019s legal, banking, trust-account or professional-responsibility procedures.<\/p>\n Write down the events that require additional verification. Examples include a new beneficiary, a changed account number, an unexpected payment method or an instruction to bypass the usual approver.<\/p>\n Give staff explicit permission to pause. A deadline should trigger escalation to the responsible partner or manager\u2014not an exception invented by the person handling the payment.<\/p>\n The important question is not \u201cDoes this email sound convincing?\u201d It is \u201cHas this change passed our approved verification process?\u201d<\/p>\n Do not reply to the questionable email and treat the response as independent confirmation. Do not use a new phone number supplied in the same message.<\/p>\n Use a previously established contact record or independently verified channel. The FBI recommends confirming payment requests and changes to account information in person or by phone and warns against relying on contact details provided by a potential scammer. FBI prevention guidance<\/a><\/p>\n Your firm should decide who may approve changes, what must be confirmed and how the confirmation is recorded. A familiar voice alone should not override the established process or an unresolved discrepancy.<\/p>\n A lightweight record can prevent confusion between \u201csomeone checked\u201d and \u201cthe change was approved.\u201d For each changed instruction, record:<\/p>\n Avoid placing full bank details in an ordinary help-desk ticket or broadly shared spreadsheet. Store supporting records in the authorized location with appropriate access.<\/p>\n Where your firm uses separate preparer and approver roles, make sure the second person can see the verification evidence\u2014not merely the final amount.<\/p>\n A control that works only when everyone is at their desk is likely to break during travel, hearings or remote work. Decide in advance what happens if the usual approver is unavailable.<\/p>\n Identify a backup approver, an approved communication method and a clear rule for unresolved changes. Test a fictional scenario in a staff meeting: a payment must go out, the account has changed, and the responsible attorney cannot immediately be reached. The useful result is a shared answer about escalation, not a faster way to bypass the check.<\/p>\n Payment authorization belongs to the firm\u2019s authorized people. IT support helps protect and investigate the systems carrying those instructions.<\/p>\n Ask your provider how your current service covers account protection, suspicious-message reporting and investigation of possible mailbox access. Multi-factor authentication is an important safeguard, but it should not be presented as proof that every email or payment request is genuine. The business verification process still matters.<\/p>\n Agree on a reporting route staff can use without interacting further with the suspicious message. Also decide who coordinates with the firm\u2019s leadership, financial institution and advisers if an incident is suspected.<\/p>\n Treat the situation as urgent. The FBI advises contacting your financial institution immediately and reporting business email compromise to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. Preserve the relevant messages and transaction details for the people handling the response; do not assume a recovery is guaranteed. FBI reporting guidance<\/a><\/p>\n For a firm serving Orlando or Kissimmee clients, the most useful next step is to review one recent payment-change request. Was the contact route independent? Was approval documented? Did everyone know what to do when something did not match?<\/p>\n Then put the agreed process where staff can find it and rehearse it with a harmless example. A clear, usable process is better than a policy that exists only in a folder.<\/p>\n Explore law firm IT services in Orlando<\/a> or contact CMIT Solutions West Orlando & Kissimmee<\/a> to discuss email security and IT support needs. You can also ask about the Free Vulnerability Report and what it covers.<\/p>\n Do not include confidential matter information, bank details or passwords in the public contact form. A technical report does not replace payment controls or guarantee protection against fraud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" An email arrives during a busy afternoon: a vendor has changed banks,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1144,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-it"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t1. Define which changes stop the payment process<\/h2>\n
2. Verify through a contact route you already trust<\/h2>\n
3. Keep verification and approval visible<\/h2>\n
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4. Make the procedure work away from the office<\/h2>\n
5. Give IT a defined role<\/h2>\n
If a payment may already have gone to the wrong destination<\/h2>\n
Turn a checklist into a repeatable routine<\/h2>\n
Discuss the technology behind your firm\u2019s workflow<\/h2>\n