Accounts Payable Email Invoice Scams... How Can They Be Prevented?

Small-to-Midsize business are frequent targets of accounts payable scams and email invoice fraud. Email is one of the easiest methods used by scammers and fake invoices is one of the most common types of fraud.  According to a survey by the Association for Financial Professionals, 81% of organizations have been targets of fake invoices and payments fraud since 2019. Large companies are not immune to this type of fraud they typically have more resources and technology available to utilize in their fight against this ongoing battle.

Let's face it, on a daily basis scammers, hackers and fraudsters are coming at organizations from every conceivable angle, using whatever they can to get and steal information and money. It is very difficult for average people to recognize what is a fake email, or phone call or activity and prevent or stop these attacks. An organization needs every single person, employee and staff member to be on the lookout, vigilant and recognize what is a scam vs what is not.

The best way to combat fake invoices and payments fraud is with a enterprise level Accounts Payable Automation solution. Accounts Payable automation solutions can help address fraud issues. Most enterprise level AP Automation systems are based on systematic checks and balances based on financial principals and rules.

Here are a few examples of systematic checks and balances that an enterprise AP Automation system like our Vision360 Enterprise system can provide businesses in the fight against payment invoice scams and payments fraud:

• Is the vendor valid and approved in the ERP system for payment
• Are buyers authorized to approve invoices and match their authority limits
• Apply systematic segregation of duties and invoice escalations
• Do invoices match against purchase orders issued by procurement
• Eliminate manual data entry of invoices for posting and payment
• Complete audit trail of invoice approval, payment and invoicing lifecycle

These are some high-level examples of ways that enterprise level AP Automation can assist in the fight against hacking, phishing and fraudulent invoice activity. Of course, the benefits of an enterprise level AP Automation system go well beyond fraud prevention and helps businesses of all types and sizes to improve efficiencies by eliminating the tedious error-prone tasks of receiving, routing, coding, matching, approving and entering invoices into the ERP system for payment.

For more information about our Vision360 Enterprise AP Automation solution and how it can help you address these challenges and more, please contact us at 603-437-1400 or contact us directly using the button below.