Invoice Fraud

How does invoice fraud work?

Invoice fraud exploits a routine that every finance team runs hundreds of times a month. A criminal either creates a fake invoice for goods or services, or intercepts and alters a real one, changing the bank account so payment flows to them. The document usually mirrors a genuine supplier’s branding, purchase order references, and amounts, which is what makes it convincing. A typical Australian scenario: a professional services firm receives a PDF invoice that matches an expected bill from a regular supplier, but the BSB and account number have been quietly swapped. Accounts payable pays it without a second look.

Why it matters for Australian finance teams

Invoice fraud sits at the heart of the payment losses tracked by the ACCC’s Scamwatch and the National Anti-Scam Centre, and it scales badly: a compromised supplier relationship can produce repeated fraudulent invoices before anyone reconciles the discrepancy. For accounts payable teams processing high volumes, a single altered set of bank details can divert every future payment to that supplier until caught. Manual checks, a phone call or an email back, are easily defeated when the fraudster also controls the contact channel.

How ezyshield helps

ezyshield verifies the account behind the invoice rather than trusting the document. Before money moves, it confirms the person, the business via ABN and ASIC records, and that the bank account genuinely belongs to your supplier. If the details on file change, re-verification is triggered automatically, and every check is captured in an append-only audit trail that is never edited or deleted. See how it works and eInvoicing fraud in Australia.