Charity Today, the leading national news platform for the UK charity sector, has alerted its membership to the growing threat of invoice fraud, which can have catastrophic consequences for the charities involved.

Invoice fraud occurs when criminals pose as legitimate suppliers and convince businesses to pay fake invoices or send real payments to fraudulent bank accounts.

As Charity Today points out, invoice fraud is becoming increasingly sophisticated, so charities should strengthen their procedures to avoid becoming the next victim.

Fraudsters often use a mix of tactics to trick businesses into sending payments to fraudulent accounts.

These can include hacking into a legitimate email account, often belonging to a trusted supplier, or by sending requests to update supplier bank details, often presented as urgent or time sensitive.

Of course, charities are not the only businesses that can fall prey to invoice fraud and the red flags to look for are similar for all sectors.

Examples of warning signs include an unexpected change in a supplier’s bank account details or emails appearing to come from a genuine supplier that contain tiny changes, such as ending in “.com” instead of “.co.uk”.

Roger Isaacs, Forensics Partner at Milsted Langdon, says: “Invoice fraud is becoming harder to spot now that fraudsters are able to use Artificial Intelligence to create very convincing fake invoices and other documentation.

“Even the most eagle-eyed and cautious volunteers or employees in the charity sector can be hoodwinked by the increasingly sophisticated techniques that the fraudsters are starting to employ.

“Sadly, all too often the victims of fraud keep quiet about what has happened to them for fear of damaging the charity’s reputation as a safe custodian of donated funds.  But if the charity is “up for the fight”, it is worth considering civil action to recover funds that have been stolen or private prosecutions supported by forensic accountancy evidence.”

Sources: Charity Today