United States Postal Inspection Service
Businesses are popular targets for invoice fraud. In these scams, criminals send bills for goods or services the business never ordered or received. The scam succeeds mainly because the invoices look legitimate and unsuspecting employees don’t look closely to see it’s not real. They simply make the payment, thinking someone else in their company placed the order. If you’ve been affected by this scam, know you’re not alone. False invoice scams rake in billions of dollars every year.
No business is immune to false invoice scams. Watch to see how a former school administrator was able to send fraudulent invoices.
Ensure your accounts payable personnel are aware of the prevalence of these scams and are cautious when processing invoices.
Don’t purchase from new suppliers or pay invoices from unfamiliar vendors until you verify their existence and reliability.
Reconcile all invoices you receive against your original purchase orders to ensure there are no discrepancies.
Protect your company’s assets by withholding payment until all information is verified.
Do your due diligence. Check out the company with the Better Business Bureau or your state Attorney General’s office.
If you’ve been affected by a false invoice scam and the U.S. Mail® has been used in any way, we want to help. Please report the crime.
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