Fake invoice
In plain terms
You receive an invoice for a service you never ordered — a domain name renewal, a business directory listing, a maintenance service. The document looks normal, and it's designed to be paid without being read.
Definition
A fake invoice is a document demanding payment for a service that was never ordered or provided, sent to a business, an association, or a self-employed professional, and written to look like a routine bill.
How it works
The sender relies on a verifiable fact: a domain name that really is expiring, a business registration that is public, a maintenance contract that really exists with a competitor. The document therefore includes accurate information about the business, which makes it credible at first glance. The amount is calibrated to stay below the threshold that would trigger a check — a few dozen to a few hundred euros. Some variants present themselves as a mere "insertion proposal" in fine print, which makes them legally questionable rather than outright fraudulent. The method doesn't target the decision-maker, but whoever pays: it relies on an organization where small invoices get paid without being matched to an order.
Warning signs
- Invoice for a service no one in the organization recalls ordering
- Unknown sender, or one whose name resembles a real supplier's without being identical
- Modest amount, chosen to stay under the usual approval threshold
- "Pay within eight days" or "final notice" wording when no previous invoice was received
- Account number unrelated to the supposed supplier's bank
- Fine print turning the invoice into an "offer" or an "insertion proposal"
How to verify
Match every invoice to a purchase order or contract bearing a named person in the organization. If no one can say who ordered it, nothing was ordered. For a domain name renewal, the accurate information is in your usual registrar's client area, never in the letter received.
What to do
Don't pay and don't reply. Keep the document and report it internally, since the same mailings often arrive in series across several departments. Set a simple rule: no invoice is paid without an identifiable order.
If it already happened
Contact your bank: a recent direct debit can sometimes be disputed, and a very recent transfer can be subject to a recall request. Gather the document, the envelope, and the exchanges, then file a police report. Also check that no recurring direct debit mandate was set up in the process.
Frequently asked questions
- The invoice mentioned accurate information about my business.
- That's expected: the registration number, address, and executive's name appear in public registers and are copied in seconds. The accuracy of this information says nothing about whether an order exists — that's what needs checking.
- The document presents itself as an "offer," not an invoice. Is that legal?
- That's precisely the gray area this method exploits: a document presented as an offer creates no obligation until it's accepted. Paying it can be treated as acceptance. Don't pay, and have the document reviewed rather than paying it just to close the matter.
- Should I reply to ask for it to be cancelled?
- No. Replying confirms the address is active and read, and starts an exchange the sender controls better than you do. Keep the document without following up.
Related attacks
Official sources
This article is part of the Financial fraud family. Last updated: 2026-09-02.