Invoice scams

Find out how to avoid invoice scams when you use your business account.

Double check before you pay

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Invoice scams

Fraudsters can target a business of any size with an invoice scam.

They pretend to be someone your firm knows, like a supplier or client, and either:

  • change their bank account details, or
  • send a fake invoice.

To get in touch, fraudsters can use all kinds of methods, from letters to phone calls. But their favourite is to send an email that’s a copy of a genuine message.

  • Double-check any changes

    If a business you pay changes their payment details or sends an invoice out of the blue, call them back to double-check. Call your single point of contact (SPOC) if you have one. Or use a number you trust, not one from an email or invoice.
    Fraudsters are hoping that you pay without checking. If this happens, it’s very hard to get the money back.

    Set up a SPOC

    A SPOC is a person or team you can talk to at another firm who can confirm an invoice or changes to details.
    If your business sets one up, it will make it easier to double-check things and help to avoid invoice scams.

  • Train your staff

    Make sure your staff know about this type of fraud and how to avoid it.

    Clearly write down a system that covers how to deal with invoices and changes to details.

    Keep this document close at hand so it’s easy to find and follow.

  • That’s incorrect – You should always double check by calling your single point of contact (SPOC) if you have one. Or use a number you trust, not one from an email or invoice.

    That’s correct - Fraudsters are hoping that you pay without checking. If this happens, it’s very hard to get the money back.

    That’s incorrect – You should always check by using a number you trust and never one from an email or invoice.

    That’s correct  - A fraudster can email you their number. They want you to call them instead of a real company.

    We’ll never get in touch and ask you to move money to another account. Only a fraudster would do this. If you get a message like this, don’t reply. Use our top tips for spotting a scam message.

    That’s correct, we’d never message and ask you to move money to another account – not even to secure an account.

How to spot a fake email

If you get an email from us, there are many ways to tell if it's real or not. 

We’ll always:

  • Greet you by title and surname - As in Dear Mrs Smith. 
  • Include part of your main account number - Or part of your postcode if you don't have an account number yet.
  • Write to you in a reasonable and calm way - Scam messages may use warnings, threats of fraud or problems with your business account to try to trick you.  

 

We’ll never send a message that:

  • Asks for your banking or personal details.
  • Asks you to move money to another account or to make a test payment online. 
  • Links directly to our Internet Banking log on page. Or a page that asks for your security or personal details.

Lloyds Bank will never ask you to:

  • Share account details like user ID, password and memorable information.
  • Tell us the security number for Telephone Banking.
  • Tell us the PIN code or expiry date of your business bank card.
  • Move money to another account

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Important legal information

Lloyds Bank plc. Registered office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales No. 2065. Lloyds Bank plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority under registration number 119278. Telephone: 020 7626 1500

Eligible deposits with us are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). We are covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Please note that due to FSCS and FOS eligibility criteria not all business customers will be covered.

Calls may be monitored or recorded in case we need to check we have carried out your instructions correctly and to help improve our quality of service.