NCA and NatWest fight against invoice fraud

The National Crime Agency (NCA) and NatWest Group have launched a joint awareness campaign targeting accounts payable teams and finance professionals to highlight the growing risks of invoice fraud, a form of financial crime that costs businesses millions of pounds each year.

Invoice fraud is among the most common and damaging types of fraud affecting individuals and organisations. It occurs when criminals trick businesses into paying fraudulent invoices or divert legitimate payments into accounts controlled by fraudsters. This is often achieved by impersonating suppliers, intercepting email communications, or issuing highly convincing invoices designed to prompt urgent payments.

Recent figures from Action Fraud underline the scale of the problem. In September 2025 alone, victims of invoice fraud reported losses of £3.9m across 83 cases, with an average loss of more than £47,000 per incident. Invoice fraud accounted for 85 per cent of all payment diversion fraud losses during the month.

The campaign provides practical guidance to help businesses identify and prevent invoice fraud. Key recommendations include checking invoices carefully for any changes to payment or bank details, verifying requests for changes by contacting suppliers using previously trusted contact details, and ensuring that no payments are made until all details have been fully confirmed.

As part of the initiative, the NCA and NatWest have released an information sheet on invoice fraud, supported by a co-branded social media campaign aligned with the Home Office’s national Stop! Think Fraud programme.

The NCA highlighted that invoice fraud causes significant harm, with fraudulent payments capable of destroying businesses by severely impacting cash flow and placing families and livelihoods at risk. While the agency continues to target and disrupt the criminal networks responsible through investigations and international intelligence sharing, it stressed that prevention remains equally critical. Strengthening awareness and defences within finance teams, particularly among accounts payable professionals, is seen as essential to reducing opportunities for criminals.

NatWest Group noted that invoice fraud poses a serious and growing threat to business customers of all sizes, from sole traders to multinational corporations. With criminals using increasingly sophisticated methods, the campaign aims to equip businesses with the knowledge and tools needed to protect themselves, encouraging the adoption of a “Check, Verify, Never” approach to payments.