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Handling Fraudulent Invoices: What Should You Do? The first rule when you suspect you’ve received a fraudulent invoice is not to pay it. The second rule is to dispute it.

The Swedish Commerce recently released a warning list that alerts about fraudulent invoices and companies known for dubious sales tactics or potentially misleading offers.

Identifying a Fraudulent Invoice Receiving a fraudulent invoice is a common issue for small business owners in Sweden. In recent years, fraudulent companies have managed around €1 billion. Many small business owners pay these invoices out of fear of being reported to the debt collection agency. There are different types of fraudulent invoices:

Hijacked Invoice A hijacked invoice might appear to be from a legitimate company like Com Hem, but with altered bank or postal account numbers. It’s challenging to detect, but it’s always good to be cautious if the bank or postal account number is different than usual.

Invoice from an Unhired Company Sometimes, invoices drop from companies you have never hired. For example, you might receive an invoice from Sannes Key Service despite never having contracted with them.

These invoices likely look entirely legitimate. To assist your seasonal staff, keep a list of vendors you’ve hired and instruct them to flag anything that deviates.

Offer Invoice This is an invoice that looks like a typical invoice but is actually an offer. It’s crucial to always read the fine print. During periods when companies hire seasonal staff, it’s beneficial for them to be aware of this issue and thoroughly read the fine print on all invoices, even for small amounts.

How to Spot a Fraudulent Invoice To verify if a company that sent the invoice is real and legitimate, a simple Google search is often sufficient. You can also check the Swedish Commerce’s warning list for companies in the grey area.

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Checklist for Detecting Fraudulent Invoices:

• Is it reasonable that we received an invoice? Did we purchase anything?
• If it’s a reminder – did you receive the original invoice?
• Are the bank or postal account numbers the same as last time?
• Have we received invoices from this supplier before?
• Does the invoicing company appear on our list of suppliers?
• Check which company is behind the Bankgiro number.
• Is the company real?
• Is it listed on the Swedish Commerce’s warning list?
• What does the fine print say?
• Does it state anywhere that the invoice is actually an offer of some sort?
• If you discover you have received a fraudulent invoice, you should always dispute it.

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Receiving a fraudulent invoice is obviously unsettling, and it’s not always clear what you should do with it. Since a debt collection agency can only collect a debt if it has not been disputed, it is crucial to dispute the fraudulent invoice.

Once a debt has been disputed, the collection agency loses its power and must return the case to the issuer, meaning to the person who issued the invoice. In other words, the collection process collapses, and the dispute is eventually settled in court. If you are certain you are correct and should not pay, you should always dispute the invoice.

How to Dispute an Invoice:

• Write with a pen on the invoice: today’s date, “I dispute this invoice because….” Avoid signing with your signature, print your or your company’s name
• Mail, fax, or email it to the address or fax number provided by the issuer on the invoice.
• Do not call the issuer. Unfortunately, verbal disputes are often hard to prove.
• Save all documents. If you are mailing by regular post, it’s good to scan or copy the invoice with the dispute text before you post it.
• Provide the shortest possible reason for disputing the invoice, such as: Did not order any goods/services. You do not need to prove anything in the dispute, a simple notification that you consider yourself not liable is sufficient.

After you have disputed the invoice, you do not need to do anything further. If further demands for the same invoice come from the issuer or a debt collection agency, just refer to your previous dispute dated [date] and attach a copy of your first dispute.

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Preventative Measures:

• Keep updated information on which suppliers exist and their details.
• Inform any seasonal staff about fraudulent invoices and to be extra vigilant if something seems off with an invoice or a supplier.
• If something seems suspicious, check the company online immediately, hold off on paying.
• Read the fine print on the invoice carefully.
• Establish clear routines for how invoicing should be handled, approval processes, etc.
• Inform everyone what to do if they receive a fraudulent invoice.

On the Swedish Commerce website, you can download their free app on how to protect yourself. There you can access tips, warnings, and even report if you have been a victim of crime. Fraudsters continuously find new ways to deceive businesses, making it challenging to stop this type of crime. You can report if you encounter a suspicious company. If we all help report these fraudsters, we are one step closer to stopping them. Ideally, all businesses can focus on their operations without feeling anxiety and powerlessness.

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