Detect Invoice Fraud Before You Pay the Wrong Account
Business email compromise and fake invoices cost companies millions. A single redirected supplier payment can wipe out months of profit, and by the time the real vendor chases you, the wire is gone.
We build the automated checks that stop the payment before it leaves.
Sound Familiar?
These are the exact gaps our clients had before automated fake invoice detection:
- A supplier email asks to update banking details, and the change goes through without an out-of-band callback
- One person can edit the vendor master and release the payment on the same day
- Lookalike domains and near-match addresses slip past the team when a payment is marked urgent
- Unusual amounts, first-time payees, or duplicate invoices clear without a system flag
- Finance only discovers the fraud when the real supplier chases an unpaid invoice weeks later
SABRIC flagged BEC and intercepted supplier invoices with altered bank details as prevalent in 2024, while Mimecast has warned that AI-driven BEC invoice campaigns are increasingly targeting South African banking, healthcare, and retail. Policy alone is no longer enough.
What Invoice Fraud Detection Actually Does
Request arrives → automated checks run → suspicious items hold → clean payments release. No wire leaves on a silent bank-detail change.
Invoice or Change Request
A supplier invoice or bank-detail update lands in AP, email, or the ERP
Automated Checks Run
Bank details, lookalike domains, amounts, and vendor history scored in seconds
Dual-Control Hold
Suspicious items require a second approver and an out-of-band callback
Wire Protected
Fraud stops before funds leave; genuine suppliers still get paid on time
Everything You Need for Reliable Fake Invoice Detection
Bank-Detail Change Flags
Any change to a supplier's bank account, branch code, or beneficiary name triggers an automatic hold and dual review before payment can leave.
Vendor Master Dual-Control
The person who edits a vendor record cannot be the same person who approves payment. Segregation of duties is enforced in the workflow, not left to policy.
Amount & Pattern Anomalies
Invoices that sit outside a supplier's normal amount range, timing, or frequency are flagged for review before the wire is released.
Lookalike Domain Checks
Emails from near-match domains, spoofed display names, and reply-to mismatches are scored and blocked from silently updating payment instructions.
Out-of-Band Verification
Bank-detail changes require a callback to a phone number already on file, never one supplied in the requesting email or invoice PDF.
Immutable Audit Trail
Every flag, override, approval, and release is logged with who, when, and why, ready for auditors, insurers, and SARS reviews.
Systems We've Wired Into Fraud Controls
From a Near-Miss Wire to R2.1M Blocked
How a Gauteng manufacturer stopped a redirected supplier payment before it left the bank, and locked dual-control into every bank-detail change.
The Manual Process
- AP updated vendor bank details from supplier emails without a mandatory callback
- One controller could edit the vendor master and release the EFT the same afternoon
- No system flag for lookalike domains or first-time beneficiary accounts
- A spoofed invoice for a long-standing steel supplier almost cleared at R2.1 million
- Finance would only have discovered the fraud when the real supplier chased payment
The Automated Process
- Bank-detail changes auto-hold until a second approver completes an out-of-band callback
- Lookalike domain and beneficiary mismatch scores block silent redirects
- Amount anomalies against the supplier's history surface before release
- The R2.1 million spoofed invoice was flagged in under a minute and rejected
- Every override carries a named approver and a timestamped reason
Before vs After BEC Detection
How It Works
From first conversation to live detection in 3–6 weeks.
Map Your AP Risk
How bank details change today, who can approve payments, and where a single compromised inbox can redirect a wire.
Free Scoping Call
30-minute call to design the detection rules, dual-control points, and the systems that need to talk to each other.
Build & Parallel Test
We wire the checks into your AP and payment stack, then run parallel for a week so genuine invoices still clear on time.
Go Live & Monitor
Suspicious payments hold automatically. Your team reviews exceptions; clean payments release without friction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is invoice fraud and BEC detection in practice?
Business email compromise and fake invoice detection catch attempts to redirect supplier payments: altered bank details on a real invoice, lookalike domains posing as a trusted vendor, or unusual payment patterns. The system holds the payment until a second person verifies the change out of band.
Will this slow down legitimate supplier payments?
No. Clean invoices with unchanged banking details continue on your normal approval path. Only bank-detail changes, anomaly scores, and high-risk signals create a hold. Most finance teams find the review queue is a handful of items a week, not a bottleneck.
Which accounting and payment systems can you connect?
We have built controls around Xero, Sage Evolution, Sage Pastel, QuickBooks, NetSuite, and custom ERPs, plus the email gateways and payment portals finance already uses. If your AP stack has an API or export, we can put detection in front of the wire.
How is this different from email spam filtering?
Spam filters catch bulk phishing. Invoice fraud detection sits on the payment decision: vendor master changes, beneficiary mismatches, amount anomalies, and dual-control enforcement. Email security helps, but it cannot decide whether a bank account update is genuine.
What happens when a payment is flagged?
The payment is held. A designated approver sees why it was flagged (bank change, lookalike domain, amount anomaly), completes an out-of-band callback using details already on file, and either releases or rejects. Every step is logged.
How much does invoice fraud detection cost?
Scoped builds typically range from R35,000 to R80,000 depending on how many systems and approval rules you need. Against an average BEC loss near R2 million per incident, most finance teams see payback on the first blocked wire, often within the first quarter.
Stop Paying Fraudulent Invoices Before They Clear
If bank-detail changes still move on email trust alone, you are one spoofed supplier message away from a loss that insurance may not cover and recovery rarely reverses.
Tell us how AP approves payments today, which ERP you run, and where vendor details get updated. We'll show you exactly how automated BEC detection would sit in front of the wire for your business.