5 Ways To Avoid Invoice Fraud

What is invoice fraud?

Fraudsters posing to be from a genuine company/supplier your business may already work with will contact your business claiming payment details have changed and to provide new details in order to defraud you. They will often ask for the invoice to be paid urgently.

How to prevent invoice fraud?

1. Look carefully at each invoice and compare it to previous invoices. In particular check the logo as it may be blurred, account details, irregular formatting and make sure the invoice quotes the full legal or ‘trading as’ name.
2. Keep an eye out on any urgent requests. Make sure to be vigilant if a company is requesting an invoice earlier than usual even if it is requested from someone who works at the company. Always call to speak to the person on a trusted number who has requested the invoice to confirm
3. If you have a dedicated employee who manually processes invoices make sure they are aware of potential scams and fraudsters and to be vigilant. Ensure they always raise concern for urgents requests and suppliers changing their details.
4. Look out for email attachments that pose to be invoices, never downloaded from an unknown sender. These can be phishing scams, to avoid this, confirm with your supplier if they have sent you an invoice.
5. It’s important to ensure staff are regularly trained on invoice fraud especially those who are in charge of the invoices as fraudsters will look for any vulnerabilities within a business.

What to do if you suspect or fall victim invoice fraud

Always report it to Action Fraud, this is the police's national fraud and cyber reporting centre.  You can report via their website - https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ This can then be looked into and can possibly prevent even more companies becoming their targets.