I have never had a problem before but my local bank is giving me problems. For the record this is Mochaba Developments in Botswana to ship my trophies taken in Botswana last May.

I have Mochaba's bank's name, Swift Code number, Branch Code number, Address, Account Name, Branch code number, and Account number.

The problem seems to be the American bank that actually handles the transfer for my local bank. (Wachovia) My local bank is telling me they need that bank's physical mailing address, routing number, and account number. All I have for Wachovia bank is the Swift number.

Is this true? I have the brightest minds of the Gibsland Bank and Trust of Homer, Louisiana working on this. Which means I will take any advice here if I can get it.

I had one that supposedly went through until the physical addresses were checked and were different. I suspect it was a fraud attempt. When I contacted the taxidermist over there everything was different in the second email.

It is something that is done to prevent fraud, they are comparing all the data.

If the vendor is dependable, you should be able to get a physical address from them without a problem.

In my experience the bank does need the physical address of the bank and the benefactor (taxidermist). Some places in Africa don't have a conventional physical address, of course, so I will get as close as I can (name of steet or road) then fake the number to make the banks computer happy.

Banks use the Swift code. The problem is as Brian pointed out, the transmitting bank must have all the blanks filled in. Without something in the required field, the computer burps.

All that is actually needed is the Swift code and the account number. The rest is to cover the bank should a wire go astray.

Always best to scan and e-mail the wire instructions that your bank gives you so that the receiving end can be on the lookout. Sometimes it can take days for the all the little electrons to find their way to the receiving bank.

I just wired money to Canada and my bank Required that business address

I sometimes have to arrange business to business wire transfers. We do it online and the system will not accept it if anything including the addresses don't match.

I seem to recall an issue a while back when there was an intermediary bank, but it all worked out. Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Guys,
For the record, I am a lifelong banker and wire fraud and card fraud (both debit and credit) are at an all-time high. Trust me when I say the bank is not hassling you, but trying to protect you.

When we hit the "send wire" button, the money is gone. There is no getting it back when it reaches a foreign country. We may, in rare cases, catch it at a domestic intermediary bank. Most times, it is too late and your money is in the thief's bank account.

The bad guys can now get a virus in your home computer, figure out who your bank is through spyware, key log your passwords and generate emails from you telling us to wire money to fictitious companies they set up, usually overseas.

So bear with us if we take a little more time to check and verify when we are asked to get a wire out to a company with a funny sounding name in Africa. We are trying our best to make sure you don't get screwed. And more often than not, the pushy aggressive customers who scream at us to get the wire off are the same ones who scream at us when they get got!

And, by the way, Wachovia Bank got bought by Wells Fargo back in '09 I believe...

Funny how that works... no good deed goes unpunished.

Thanks Russell!

I had a wire transfer go missing.
Everything on this end said it went thru. It was not showing up in the Taxi's account. I finally just went to his banks website. Along with my bank I used an email address listed on there website to talk to a specific person. As it turns out there was a discrepancy in the information and they were holding it because they said they were not 100% sure which account to put it in.

Email Debbie at Mochaba and get her to send the info , if she hears there is an issue she will jump on it , I am not in the office or I could have given you the full info needed but yes banks are trying to protect you and your money , you won't believe how many scams we get in the emails everyday .

I echo Russell's statements, but from an IT perspective. I have seen several companies targeted in the last week alone by sophisticated schemes, that basically involve hacking network and/or email credentials and posing as the recipient, providing "new" (fraudulent) bank routing information.

The cybercriminals know what industries routinely wire transfer funds, and are very specific in their attack. Small business represents a target of opportunity, as security and related procedures are often lax.

I would encourage outfitters to make sure that your email password is complex and consider changing periodically, especially if you have any suspicions that you have been compromised. Provide clients with alternate contact details and encourage them to verify bank information before sending funds. Ideally encryption would be used to send and recieve any sensitive data, not just banking but client identity information.

Clients wiring funds should verify routing information by a second means, such as private messaging, text, or preferably via phone. A friendly email referencing previous communications with new bank info should be viewed with caution. Your bank should have a system to allow for approval of any transfers via text or other before releasing funds.

Just a few suggestions, afraid just the tip of the iceburg though.

I have had a Wire problem also. The Money was wired from my Bank to a Bank in Africa for the down payment on a Hunt. The wire was never confirmed being received and my Bank told me the Bank in Africa can say they did not receive the wire and just keep the money and there was nothing I could do about it? Two or three days later the Bank in Africa confirmed they received the wire?

Via the Swift number we were able to get the US address of the intermediary bank with the correct new name. Money is on the way. Hopefully it will get there.