Glossary / Fraud & scams
Authorised Push Payment Fraud (APP Fraud)
Authorised push payment fraud (APP fraud) is when a victim is deceived into authorising a payment from their own account to a fraudster, so the transfer is genuine but the instruction was obtained by deception.
What makes APP fraud different?
Unlike card fraud, where a criminal uses stolen details, authorised push payment fraud relies on the victim pressing send themselves. The payment is real and correctly authorised, but the reason for it is a lie. Fraudsters engineer a scenario, an urgent supplier bank change, a fake executive request, or a convincing invoice, so the payer willingly pushes money to an account the criminal controls. For an Australian business, this often looks like a finance officer transferring a large supplier payment to updated bank details, believing the request is genuine, only to discover the account belongs to a money mule.
Why it matters for Australian finance teams
Because the payer authorised the transaction, banks and the Australian real-time payments rails move the funds instantly and recovery is difficult once the money is gone. Scamwatch and the National Anti-Scam Centre report that scams relying on victims sending their own money account for a large share of total business losses each year. Faster payments through the New Payments Platform mean there is less time to catch a mistake before the funds clear.
How ezyshield helps
ezyshield addresses the root cause: it confirms who you are actually paying before the instruction is acted on. By verifying the person, the business through ABN and ASIC records, and bank account ownership, it stops a deceptive instruction from resolving to a fraudster’s account. Any change in details triggers re-verification, and each check is stored in an append-only audit trail that is logged and never deleted. See how it works and Confirmation of Payee.
Also known as: APP fraud, APP, authorised push payment scam
Last updated: 7 July 2026
Related terms
- Payment Redirection Fraud Payment redirection fraud is a scam where criminals trick a business into sending money to a bank account they control, usually by posing as a supplier and changing the payment details on an invoice.
- Social Engineering Social engineering is the manipulation of people into revealing information or taking action, such as approving a payment, by exploiting trust, urgency, or authority rather than hacking systems.
- Confirmation of Payee (CoP) Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is a check that matches the account name a payer enters against the name registered on the destination bank account, warning them before payment if the details do not match.
- Money Mule A money mule is a person who receives and transfers stolen or fraudulent funds through their own bank account on behalf of criminals, helping to launder the proceeds of fraud.
See also: Authorised push payment fraud , Confirmation of Payee , Payment fraud prevention in Australia
Stop payment fraud before money moves
Verify the person, business, and bank account before any payment leaves your account.