Contractors payment-fraud defense

Business email compromise defense for contractors.

Use this workflow when your team handles supplier invoice spoofing and subcontractor payment-change fraud. The goal is simple: pause, verify off-thread, inspect mailbox artifacts, document, then approve or escalate.

Common scenario

A subcontractor or supplier sends a new remittance account while a project is moving fast.

Attackers win when the business treats a payment change like a normal email. This page turns it into a repeatable approval system.

Workflow

The four-part verification system.

Hold the invoice

Turn this into a written checkpoint before money leaves the business.

Verify with the vendor contact already in the accounting file

Turn this into a written checkpoint before money leaves the business.

Compare domain, reply-to, and previous invoice history

Turn this into a written checkpoint before money leaves the business.

Record the approval trail

Turn this into a written checkpoint before money leaves the business.

What to inspect

Signals that make the request high-risk.

Email mismatch

Display name, reply-to, domain spelling, invoice footer, or payment details do not match previous records.

Urgency pressure

The message pressures staff to bypass normal approval because of a deadline, angry vendor, or executive request.

Mailbox artifacts

Forwarding rules, filters, OAuth grants, new logins, deleted threads, or hidden replies suggest account compromise.

Internal links

Related BEC resources.

Capture the traffic

Get the free payment-change verification checklist.

Send it to the person who approves invoices, ACH, wires, or vendor bank changes.

Next step

Want the workflow instead of another article?

Get the Business Email Compromise Defense Pack, request a free teardown, or download the checklist and capture the process for your team.

Want this installed?

Add done-with-you setup.

If you want the first version adapted, tested, and documented, start with setup help.

View setup optionsGet free teardown