Leed impersonation scam
What is happening:
Scammers are impersonating Leed personnel in well-orchestrated attempts to steal hardware from suppliers.
It has been reported that scammers are placing orders for large quantities of hardware, submitting fraudulent credit applications and arranging for the goods to be delivered to random locations.
The scammers communicate by email and mobile phone using fake details. Their credit application forms combine legitimate, publicly available information about Leed with fraudulent details. Additionally, they appear to be impersonating fake referees for the credit applications.
What to look out for:
Be alert to requests from anyone claiming to represent Leed who wants to purchase large quantities of hardware on a credit account. Take particular care where the sender’s email address does not end in @leed.net.au and the request originated from your company website (e.g. an online enquiry form).
Legitimate emails from Leed personnel use the domain @leed.net.au, the same as the Leed website.
Common fake email addresses that have been reported include but are not limited to:
- Leedengineeringandconstruction@aol.com
- {staff name} .leed.net.au@outlook.com
- LeedEngineeringConstructionLTD@aol.com
- leedengineeringconstruction@outlook.com
- @leedengineeringandconstruction.net
- @leedengineeringandconstruction.com
- @leedconstruction-au.com
Additional characteristics we recommend looking out for:
- Poor formatting and variable font sizes used in the submitted documents.
- The same phone numbers used for multiple people / business within the same document.
- Credit referees claiming to be from but not limited to:
- Infinity Construction
- ADCO Constructions Pty Ltd
- Robson Civil Pty Ltd
This list is not exhaustive, and they are likely to change.
What to do if you have been affected:
Do not click on links, open attachments or provide personal or financial information.
We recommend that you contact the following services immediately and report your experience if you are confident that the interaction is fraudulent or if you have lost money as a result:
- Your state police cybercrime department.
- https://www.cyber.gov.au/submit-a-report
- https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/
If you are unsure if the communication is legitimate or not, please contact our head office on 08 8132 1044 for verification.
We take reports of fraudulent activity seriously and encourage anyone who receives suspicious communications claiming to be from Leed to report the activity to the necessary authorities as soon as possible.