Invoice Fraud in the Retail Sector
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has launched a campaign to tackle invoice fraud across multiple sectors, including retail. It is one of the most common forms of payment fraud affecting organisations that regularly process supplier invoices and make electronic payments.
Retail businesses can be vulnerable to invoice fraud because they often manage high volumes of supplier invoices, maintain extensive supplier networks, and process frequent payments across multiple locations. The routine use of email to exchange invoices, purchase orders and supplier payment details can make it more difficult to identify fraudulent requests.
Criminals exploit these everyday business processes by impersonating trusted suppliers or service providers and attempting to divert legitimate payments into bank accounts under their control.
Invoice fraud occurs when fraudsters deceive businesses into paying fake invoices or changing the payment details on genuine invoices so that funds are transferred to criminal accounts. They may compromise email accounts, intercept communications or send convincing invoices that appear to come from legitimate suppliers, often creating a sense of urgency to encourage immediate payment.
The aim is to manipulate employees into transferring funds to fraudsters instead of the intended supplier, resulting in financial loss and operational disruption.
To help protect your business from invoice fraud:
- CHECK any unexpected changes to invoice details, supplier bank account information or requests for urgent payment.
- VERIFY any changes by contacting the supplier using a trusted telephone number already on record. Never rely solely on contact details provided in an email requesting payment or bank detail changes.
- NEVER authorise or transfer payment until you are satisfied that the invoice and payment details are genuine.
The NCA has developed guidance on invoice fraud, providing practical advice to help organisations recognise, prevent and respond to this type of fraud. You can access the guidance in the link below.
The NCA also encourages retailers to share this information internally to help raise awareness among employees. If you wish, you may add your organisation's logo to the top of the campaign document before distributing it to colleagues.
