Defend Your Business from Invoice Fraud
Invoice payment fraud is a growing threat that affects organizations of all sizes. Cybercriminals use sophisticated techniques to trick employees into paying fraudulent invoices, leading to significant financial losses and in many cases harm to a business’s reputation.
How Invoice Payment Fraud Happens
Invoice payment fraud occurs when scammers send fraudulent invoices to businesses, posing as legitimate vendors or suppliers.
These invoices often look authentic and are designed to deceive employees into making payments to fraudulent accounts. Scammers may gain access to email accounts or use social engineering tactics to gather information and create convincing fake invoices.
How to Recognize Invoice Payment Fraud
• Unexpected Invoices: Be cautious of invoices from unfamiliar vendors or suppliers, especially if they are not associated with recent transactions or contracts.
• Urgent Payment Requests: Fraudulent invoices often include urgent or threatening language to pressure recipients into making quick payments without proper verification.
• Changes in Payment Details: Watch for invoices that request changes in payment methods or bank account details. Always verify changes with the vendor using a trusted contact method.
• Inconsistencies in Invoice Details: Look for discrepancies in invoice numbers, amounts, or vendor information compared to previous invoices from the same supplier.
• Unusual Email Addresses: Be wary of invoices sent from email addresses that do not match the vendor’s official domain or contain slight variations.
Steps to Protect Against Invoice Fraud
• Verify Invoices: Implement call back procedures by calling the sender of the invoice at a known good phone number any time you receive a payment request from a new vendor, or if the vendor requests payment to a new account.
• Educate Employees: Train employees on recognizing invoice fraud and the importance of verifying payment requests.
• Use Multi-Factor Authentication: Protect email accounts and online banking access with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
• Monitor Financial Transactions: Regularly review and reconcile bank statements and financial transactions to identify any suspicious activity promptly.
The information contained in this article should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice, and may not be reflective of terms and features currently offered by Enterprise Bank. Please contact us for details on current product offerings and rates.
If you think you are the victim of fraud related to your account with Enterprise Bank, please contact the Bank’s Call Center at 978-459-9000 or toll-free at 877-671-2265. For additional information on how to protect your accounts, visit https://www.enterprisebanking.com/security.