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Invoice scams

Fraudsters can pretend to be a business that you owe money to, for work or a service.

Find out how you can avoid this scam.

 

How an invoice scam works

When you use a company for a job, like building work, they often email you an invoice.

If fraudsters hack an email account or make a close copy of an email address, they can pretend to be a genuine company to email:

- a fake invoice

- a change of bank account details.

Fraudsters may even target you with this scam after you've paid a genuine company.

How to spot and avoid invoice scams

How to spot a scam email

Scam emails arrive out of the blue and often contain things that makes you think it’s real, for example:

  • A logo and contact details for a company.
  • An explanation of the service you’re getting.
  • Your details.

If an email includes an invoice, call the sender on a number you trust to find out if they sent it.

Always check before you pay or reply.

Is the email address spelt correctly? Fraudsters change letters or numbers so it looks similar to a genuine email address.

You can search online for a free email address checker to help spot scam emails.

How to avoid this scam

If you’ve never paid them before, call the person or business who sent an invoice by email.

Only use a trusted phone number.

Check if they sent the invoice and confirm payment details.

Never use a phone number from an invoice or email, as it could call a fraudster.

How to pay an invoice safely

If you need to pay a bank account for the first time, do these two things:

  1. Call the person or business
    Only use a phone number you trust, like one you’ve called before, or off a business card or their website.
    A number on an email or invoice may have been changed by fraudsters.
  2. Confirm payment details
    Talk to the person or business to check that you have the correct name, account number and sort code.
    We’ll warn you if a name doesn’t match an account.
    If you pay an account that belongs to a fraudster, it’s very hard for you to get your money back.
    Need to pay a large amount of money? Try sending a little bit first, then call to make sure they got it before paying the rest.

How to pay an invoice safely

If you need to pay a bank account for the first time, do these two things:

  1. Call the person or business
    Only use a phone number you trust, like one you’ve called before, or off a business card or their website.
    A number on an email or invoice may have been changed by fraudsters.
  2. Confirm payment details
    Talk to the person or business to check that you have the correct name, account number and sort code.
    We’ll warn you if a name doesn’t match an account.
    If you pay an account that belongs to a fraudster, it’s very hard for you to get your money back.
    Need to pay a large amount of money? Try sending a little bit first, then call to make sure they got it before paying the rest.

Learn about other scams and how to protect yourself

Scam calls

Learn how fraudsters can use your details to win your trust.

Avoid scam calls

Scam emails and texts

Find out how fraudsters try to steal your details.

Avoid scam messages

Investment scams

Fraudsters pretend to be genuine companies and advisers.

Avoid investment scams

Pension scams

Did you know fraudsters can target your pension?

Protect your pension

Protect your passwords

Fraudsters will try to guess passwords to your online accounts.

How to create strong passwords

How we protect you

Find out the methods we use to protect you from fraud.

How we fight fraud

Learn about the latest scams

Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to try to steal your details and money. Discover which scams are common right now.

Go to latest scams

Have you been targeted by fraudsters?

Contact us right away if you think you've been scammed. We can then guide you on what to do next.

Contact us now

Stay scam safe

Find out how to spot and avoid scams, and how to report fraud.

Protect yourself from fraud

Stay scam safe

Find out how to spot and avoid scams, and how to report fraud.

Protect yourself from fraud