How does invoice fraud work?
With invoice fraud, criminals usually target financial employees of companies, but individuals can also fall victim to it. You are then tricked into depositing money into the fraudster's account. Scammers mail you a fake invoice, with their own account number on it.
An example:
- Elaine works in the accounting department of a construction firm. She receives an email that appears to be from the company Quickcement, a regular supplier.
- In the mail, the request to pay the enclosed invoice, but to a new account number, as Quickcement has changed banks.
- The invoice looks in order, and Elaine pays the invoice on the new account number.
- Afterwards, it turns out that the fraudster faked the invoice and replaced the normal account number with his own.
- The result? The money is gone!
Remember: any attempted fraud is a crime. Even if you are smart enough to recognise the fraud and do not respond to the payment request, it is still best to report the attempted fraud. This way, you will put the police on the trail of the fraudsters, and you may be able to prevent others from becoming victims!
How can you avoid invoice fraud?
With invoice fraud, it's actually simple: distrust any request for payment where the account number given differs from the account number you usually use (you can easily check this in your banking app). This applies to both individuals and large or small companies, for small and large amounts.
We also made a list of concrete tips for companies and employees to combat invoice fraud.
Watch out for online fraud
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Recognise CEO-fraud
Scammers pose as a CEO or other member of management and ask a financial employee to make a payment. Don't fall into the trap with these tips.
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Malvertising
The word says it all: online ads created by criminals spreading malware . The result? An infected computer or your personal data released. Arm yourself against malvertising.
