Fake invoice: when the bank details are swapped in the payment run

Internally the matter is closed: invoice checked, approved, paid, posted. An error only becomes visible when the actual supplier issues a reminder – depending on the payment term, weeks later. By then the amount has regularly been forwarded, and the starting position for a recovery has deteriorated significantly.

It is aggravating that the incident initially looks like an ordinary booking error. The investigation therefore often starts in accounts payable rather than where it belongs – with the question of whether a mailbox was compromised and whether further matters are affected.

As a matter of civil law, the first question is whether the payment had the effect of discharging the debt. If payment was made to a third party, the supplier’s claim generally continues to exist – the loss then lies with the paying company. Whether claims exist against those involved, against account-holding institutions or under insurance contracts is a question of the individual case and of the documentation.

Under criminal law, fraud and the falsification of data relevant as evidence, among other offences, may come into consideration. A complaint can make it possible to obtain information about account holders that is not available privately. That does not entail any assurances as to how the matter will proceed.