Fraudulent invoices

I had been aware of this tactic of and was always very careful when paying invoices that I received by email. Last week I received an invoice from the landscaper who had been working on our garden for a couple of weeks. I did my usual process of setting up the contractor as a new payee in my bank and sent him £1. I then called him to confirm that he had received it okay then sent him the balance. An hour later my bank called me and asked if the payment I had just made was for an invoice that I had received by email, and after I had told her the procedure I had gone through to verify I was paying the correct person she thanked me for my diligence and said that she had released the hold on the transaction and the payment would proceed.

Less of an issue in the USA for individuals who rarely pay invoices using bank to bank, but very common here so something to be aware of when receiving pdf format invoices via email. If the senders email has been hacked then you may receive an invoice that has been altered “en route” as it where.


https://www.investec.com/en_gb/welcome-to-investec/news-and-views/insights/personal-finance/latest-fraud-scam.html

Fraudsters no longer need access to your bank accounts in order to steal money. By hacking into your email, scammers can intercept invoices, changing the payment details of individuals and businesses.