Invoice scam: recovering a diverted payment

Can a payment sent on a fake invoice be recovered

Recovery is most realistic within the first day, before the receiving account is emptied. An invoice diversion scam usually leaves a clear paper trail, since the fraudulent invoice itself becomes part of the evidence.

Contact your bank the moment you suspect the invoice was fake, and ask about a recall or a hold on the receiving account. No outcome can be promised, but speed improves the odds.

This is a variant of business email compromise, where a changed detail rather than a changed sender carries the fraud.

The bank recall attempt

Call your bank as soon as the discrepancy is noticed, and give them the transfer date, amount, and receiving account. Ask specifically about a recall, since this window narrows quickly.

Do this in parallel with, not instead of, verifying the supplier separately. Both steps can happen on the same day.

If the transfer was very recent, call the National Scam Response Centre on 997 as well.

Verifying the real supplier

Call the supplier on a number you already have, from an old invoice or your own contact records, never one from the new email. Ask them to confirm the account change out loud.

This call also clarifies whether the genuine supplier has actually been paid or is still owed. Keep paying the real supplier separately once their real account is confirmed, so the underlying business relationship is not lost as well.

A supplier who resists this kind of verification is worth treating with caution.

Reporting and preserving the evidence

Make a police report with the fake invoice, the email headers, and the payment record attached. This gives the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) what it needs to trace the receiving account.

Keep the original supplier’s genuine invoices for comparison, since the difference between the two often centres on one changed line.

Note the exact time the fraudulent invoice arrived and when payment was sent, since this timeline helps investigators and a bank move faster.

Civil claim considerations and what to do next

For a meaningful business amount, a civil claim against a scammer becomes worth exploring once the receiving account is identified. An honest look at whether legal action is worth it weighs this against the likely cost.

Legal help after a scam explains what a lawyer can add once your bank and police reports are filed. Recall the payment, verify the supplier, then report, in that order, on the same day if possible.