A payment request can look professional and still be fraudulent. Before transferring money, slow down and independently verify where the money is going.
A familiar company name, logo, invoice or email address is not enough to prove that a payment instruction is genuine.
The most important question is whether the beneficiary, amount and reason for the payment have been independently confirmed.
Work through these checks before approving an unusual or high-impact payment.
Treat a sudden request to change the account, bank or beneficiary for an existing supplier or payment as high risk.
Confirm exactly who will receive the money. Do not rely only on the name displayed in a message or invoice.
Check the final amount before approving the transaction. Be especially careful when the amount differs from what you originally expected.
Verify unusual payment instructions through a trusted contact method that you already know. If it is a person, call a phone number you already have for them. If it is an organisation, find its official website or app yourself and use the contact details published there.
Keep the relevant invoice, message, account details and other useful evidence until you are satisfied that the request has been independently verified.
Contact the person or organisation using a trusted phone number, existing conversation or other independent contact method. For a person, use a phone number you already have. For an organisation, find its official website or app yourself and use the contact information published there. Do not use only the contact details contained in the suspicious request.
VERIFY THE BENEFICIARY. VERIFY THE AMOUNT.