Fraud type · Order fraud
Ordering in someone else’s name: the customer who doesn’t exist
The order comes from a well-known, healthy company. The credit check is fine, so you deliver on account. Weeks later it turns out the real company never ordered and the goods went to another address.
How does it work?
Short answer: the fraudster uses the name, number and good credit rating of an existing company. They order with their own email address and phone number, ask for delivery on account and have the goods taken to another address: a warehouse, a storage unit or a “second site”. The invoice goes to the real company, which knows nothing about it.
The variants
- The look-alike domain: orders from a domain almost identical to the real company’s. See Fake emails, invoices and bank details.
- The new buyer: “I’ve just started, my colleague used to do this”.
- The changed delivery instruction: an existing customer who suddenly gives a different delivery address.
- Collection instead of delivery: their own driver or courier picks up the goods.
- Trial order, then the big one: first a small order paid properly, then a large one on account.
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9 red flags
- The delivery address differsfrom the address in the register.
- Email on another or free domainthan the official website.
- Only a mobile numberand no contact via the landline.
- A new contact personwho can’t be found at the company.
- Urgency: “it must be delivered tomorrow”.
- Easy-to-sell goodssuch as electronics, phones, branded clothing, food or drinks.
- Few questions about price or termswhile buyers normally negotiate.
- Collection by their own driverwith little information about vehicle or company.
- An order that doesn’t fit the activityof the company in the register.
One red flag is not proof. If you see two or more, stop and check further first.
Checklist: how to verify a new order
- Look up the company in the register and compare address, activity and directors with the order.
- Call the company’s landline that you looked up yourself and have purchasing confirm the order.
- Compare the email address letter by letter with the website’s domain.
- Only deliver to a company address, or have a different address confirmed separately.
- Send the order confirmation to the company’s general address, not only to the sender.
- For collections, record the driver’s registration, name and company.
- For a first large order, ask for prepayment, even if the credit score is good.
What to do if it goes wrong
- Contact the real company and your carrier immediately; sometimes the shipment can still be stopped.
- Report it to the police and pass on the delivery address.
- Keep all emails with full headers, phone numbers and delivery notes.
- Warn colleagues in your sector; fraudsters often try several suppliers at once.
Let Safetybizz check it
Safetybizz compares an order with the register: does the email address belong to the company, is the delivery address right, and is the contact person really from that company.
Frequently asked questions
What is order fraud?
Ordering goods or services in the name and on the account of another company, without that company knowing, with delivery to an address of the fraudster.
Who pays for the damage?
Often the supplier, because the real company did not order. That is why checking beforehand matters so much.
Is a different delivery address always suspicious?
No, companies sometimes have several sites. But always have a different address confirmed via the company’s landline.
Read also
- Business identity fraud
- Spotting a clone company
- Fake emails, invoices and bank details
- The fake supplier
Free checks
This page is general information and not legal advice.