How Small Businesses Can Verify Vendor Payment Changes

Here's a common fraud. An email claims your vendor's bank details have changed and asks you to update them. The defense is one habit: treat every bank-change request as unverified until you confirm it by phone, using the number you already have on file, never the number in the email. Speak to a known contact, confirm the change out loud, write down who you spoke to and when, then update your records with a second person's sign-off. A genuine vendor will never object to a quick call. Put this in a one-page SOP so it happens every time.

Educational information only. This is not legal, financial, or security advice. If you have been defrauded, contact your bank and the FTC (ReportFraud.ftc.gov) or FBI IC3 (ic3.gov).