Small businesses face rising risks from invoice fraud

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to invoice fraud, experiencing a median loss of $126,000 per incident according to 2026 findings from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Common fraudulent activities include duplicate billing, where the same invoice is processed multiple times under slightly different identifiers, and fake bills sent by scammers for unsolicited products or services.

To mitigate these risks, experts suggest implementing rigorous accounts payable checks. One primary method is the ‘three-way match,’ which requires that the supplier invoice, the original purchase order, and the actual delivery records all align before payment is issued. This prevents businesses from paying for goods that were never received or ordered.