New payment details? Check before you pay.

A message arrives from a supplier you use regularly. It looks like an ordinary invoice email, except it asks you to send the next payment to a different bank account. Checking the change independently can help prevent supplier payment fraud, even when the invoice looks familiar.

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month. It is a useful time to review one everyday business habit: how your team verifies new payment instructions before acting on them.

A familiar name is not enough

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre describes a supplier impersonation scam in which a message appears to come from a known business and directs future payments to a new account.

A recognizable company name, familiar-looking email address or plausible explanation does not establish that the change is genuine. Check the request independently before updating a supplier record or sending money.

Verify the change through a trusted contact

Pause the payment while you check. Use contact details from your existing records to make an outgoing call to the supplier. Avoid relying on a new phone number or link supplied in the message you are checking.

Ask your usual contact to confirm the exact new payment details. Then follow your business’s normal approval process before updating the supplier record or sending money. If you cannot verify the request, leave the payment on hold and raise it with the person responsible for payments in your business.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recommends independently verifying changes to payment information using a known contact method. An urgent deadline is a reason to slow down and check.

Make supplier payment fraud checks part of your routine.

Before someone takes time off, show their backup how payment changes are handled. Agree on who can approve a change and where the team can find trusted supplier contact details. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s business guidance recommends maintaining a list of known business contacts and limiting who can approve purchases and pay bills.

Keep a brief record of the check in the system your business already uses. For example, note the supplier, the date, who you spoke with and who approved the change. Make sure the next person handling the invoice can see that record.

Before changing payment details

• Did we confirm the new payment details directly with the supplier using contact details we already trust?
• Did we approve the change through our usual payment approval process?
• Did we record the check so the next person handling the payment can see it?

If you think a payment went to a scammer

Contact your financial institution immediately using its official contact details. Tell the person responsible for payments in your business what happened and preserve the relevant messages and payment records. If an account may have been accessed, involve your IT support contact promptly.

Report the incident to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Its reporting page explains how to report online, including attempted fraud. Acting quickly matters, but recovery is not guaranteed.

Share this check with whoever handles invoices, including anyone who covers the role during time off. The aim is to make verification a normal part of paying suppliers.