Invoice fraud protection for Australian businesses
Invoice fraud is the quietest way a business loses money. The bill looks right, the supplier is real, the work was done — and the bank details belong to a criminal. This guide covers how the four main attacks work, the warning signs on a supplier bill, what to do if a payment has already gone, and how to have every bill checked automatically before payday.
The four kinds of invoice fraud
Almost every case an Australian business reports falls into one of these. Each has a tell that can be checked before the money moves.
Supplier bank-detail change
A real supplier's invoice arrives with a new BSB and account number, often with a line like 'we've changed banks'. The work was real, the bill was real — only the destination changed.
The tell
Bank details differ from the last paid invoice for the same supplier.
Business email compromise
An attacker reads a mailbox quietly for weeks, waits for a genuine invoice, then resends it from a lookalike domain at exactly the right moment in the conversation.
The tell
Reply-to address differs by one character, or the domain was registered weeks ago.
Fake supplier / fake invoice
A bill for services you never ordered, made to look like a subscription renewal, directory listing, compliance fee or tool licence. Small enough that nobody queries it.
The tell
ABN missing, cancelled, or not GST registered while the invoice charges GST.
Urgency and authority pressure
A message that appears to come from a director or the head office, asking for an urgent payment outside the normal process, usually late Friday.
The tell
Pressure to skip verification, plus a phone number that has never been used before.
Warning signs on a supplier bill
Run through this list before releasing any payment to a new supplier, or any payment where the bank details differ from last time.
- The BSB or account number is different from the last invoice you paid that supplier
- The invoice arrived from a slightly different domain or a free email account
- The ABN is missing, cancelled, or the business is not registered for GST but GST is charged
- The bill is for work you can't match to a job, quote or purchase order
- The contact phone number on the invoice has changed
- You are being pushed to pay today, or told not to call to confirm
- The PDF was created with different software than the supplier's usual bills
- Rounded, unusual amounts just under your normal approval threshold
One rule beats every checklist: never accept a change of bank details over email. Ring the supplier on a number you already have on file and confirm the BSB and account number out loud.
If you think you've already paid a fraudulent invoice
Stop the payment
Don't pay, don't reply to the email thread. If it has already gone, call your bank immediately and ask for a recall — the first few hours matter most.
Verify out-of-band
Phone the supplier on a number you already have on file, never one from the suspicious invoice or email signature.
Check the business
Confirm the ABN is active and GST-registered, and that the trading name matches the account name on the bill.
Keep the evidence
Save the invoice, the email headers and every decision made. Your bank, insurer and ScamWatch will all ask for it.
You can also report the scam so other Australian businesses are warned about the same account and sender.
How RILLA Shield does all of this for you
The checklist above is exactly what RILLA Shield automates — 22 layers of checks on every supplier bill, returning Safe, Verify or High-Risk in about five seconds.
Every bill checked
ABN and GST status, supplier bank-detail history, sender domain age and lookalike detection, document forensics, phone identity and known scam matches.
Risky bills held
Anything that fails gets a HOLD marker in your accounting system and a text to you, with the reason in plain English — before payday.
Evidence you can use
Every decision produces an evidence PDF for your bank recall, your insurer or a ScamWatch report.
Already on Xero? Follow the Xero setup guide and every draft and awaiting-payment bill is re-checked automatically. MYOB users can connect MYOB here.
Invoice fraud questions
Have your next bill checked before you pay it
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