Fake invoice scam: 9 red flags to check before you pay

1. 1The bank details are new or different from the last invoice you paid.
2. 2The sender's address is close to the vendor's but not identical: a missing letter, an extra hyphen, .co instead of .com.
3. 3Hitting reply would send your answer to a different address, often a free Gmail or Outlook account.
4. 4The email pushes you to pay today, or asks you not to call.
5. 5The vendor gives a new reason for the change: a merger, a new bank, an audit, a "system migration".
6. 6The phone number in the email is new, or different from the one on file.
7. 7The invoice layout, logo or PDF name looks slightly different from previous ones.
8. 8The amount or invoice number doesn't match your records or purchase order.
9. 9The email arrives in an old thread, but with a request the vendor never made before.

1. 1Don't pay and don't reply to the email.
2. 2Call the vendor on a number you already had, and ask them to read you the last 4 digits of the new account.
3. 3Pay only if they match, and note who you spoke to and when.

The people who get caught are rarely careless. They're busy. The fix is to make the check automatic: every bank change triggers the same three steps, no matter how legitimate the email looks.