You stop business email compromise and partner impersonation with managed email security, impersonation protection, MFA, account monitoring, and a firm habit of verifying any payment or bank-detail request by phone. Accountancy practices are prime targets because they move client money and act on instructions by email. Closing off the way these scams work protects your clients’ funds and your firm’s reputation.
The classic attack: an email that looks like it’s from a partner or a client, asking to move money or change details. Here’s how to stop it.
1. Impersonation protection
Many scams use a display name that matches a partner or client while coming from an external address. Impersonation protection flags these, so an email pretending to be a senior colleague is caught rather than trusted.
2. MFA and account monitoring
MFA means a phished password alone can’t get into a mailbox, and monitoring catches the signs of a hijacked account, like a login from an unexpected country or a new forwarding rule, before it’s used to send a convincing request from a real address.
3. Verify payments by phone
A firm rule that no payment or change of bank details is acted on without a phone call to a known number stops fraud at the point money would move. It’s the simplest, most effective control against these scams.
4. Train and make reporting easy
Regular training keeps staff alert, and a one-click phishing-report button means a suspicious email is checked by experts rather than acted on. Together they make impersonation far less likely to succeed.
A real example: a spoof caught
We support a London accountancy practice serving music and entertainment clients where several users received emails that appeared to come from a named colleague but originated externally, a classic impersonation aimed at a team that moves client money. We confirmed the spoof, warned staff and adjusted the email-security rules to catch the pattern going forward.
For most music and entertainment accountancy firms, this sits within fully managed IT at about £45 to £100 per user per month, billed per user, with secure remote access and the protection client data needs built in.
Why music and entertainment accountants choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including London accountancy practices serving music and entertainment clients. We know the software your firm runs every day: CCH, QTAC, QuickBooks, payroll software, FYI and INVU, alongside Microsoft 365 and hosted desktops, and we understand the discretion high-profile clients expect. We support accountancy practices in London and across Essex and Hertfordshire. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we’ve been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Worried about partner impersonation and payment fraud? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we’ll strengthen your defences.