Spotting fake invoices and false bank details
Fake invoices often look genuine. The fraud is usually only noticed once the money is gone. A few fixed checks help. All examples are fictitious.
Typical schemes
- Changed bank details: Musterbau GmbH receives an e-mail from its long-standing supplier: they have changed banks, please pay to a new account in future. Sender name and logo match, but the address differs by one letter.
- Invented company: An invoice from „Beispiel Handels GmbH“ for office supplies that were never ordered. The company does not exist in the commercial register.
- Listing offers: A letter that looks like a commercial register fee is in fact an offer for a private directory listing.
Warning signs
- New or changed IBAN, especially with a foreign country code for a German partner
- Time pressure, such as „please transfer today“
- Small differences in e-mail address, company name or legal form
- Missing or invalid VAT ID, missing register number
- Account holder does not match the invoicing company
How to check bank details
- Confirm every change of bank details via a channel you already know, such as the telephone number in your master data. Not via the contact details in the suspicious e-mail.
- Check whether the IBAN is formally valid and which bank and country it belongs to.
- For SEPA transfers, use your bank's verification of payee. It shows whether name and IBAN match.
- Compare company name, registered office and register number with the commercial register.
- Make sure changes of bank details are always approved by a second person.
Valifex checks IBAN, register and VAT ID in one check and records the result in the check report.
This article gives a general overview as of 3 November 2026. It is not legal or tax advice and does not replace an assessment of the individual case.