Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.

Fake Purchase Order Scams or Fraud

Industrial suppliers are urged to be on the alert for Fake Purchasing Order scams being used by fraudsters to order items using legitimate company names. Purchase Order Fraud, Fake Purchasing Order, or Fake Purchase Order are scams being used by fraudsters to order items from suppliers by providing them with a fake Purchase Order which looks almost identical to that of a known and trusted company.

How the Fake Purchase Order Works?

The fraudsters send the suppliers a fake Purchase Order via email from a fake email account looking almost similar to a legitimate company's email address, requesting a quotation for specific items. To make their fake Purchase Orders appear legitimate, the fraudsters copy the legitimate companies' information and logos from their websites. Once the quote is delivered, the scammers will either create a fake Purchase Order, or forge an existing one, and have the vendor ship the products on Net 30-terms or use a stolen credit card to pay for the items directly.

How to Identify a Fake Purchase Order Scam

  • The fraudsters use fake email addresses looking almost similar to the legitimate companies.
  • The delivery address is not the actual address of the legitimate company in question.
  • Emails are written with poor grammar and spelling.
  • Unusually large quantities of items are ordered.
  • Use of fake phone numbers from the company.

How Companies can Protect Themselves Against "Fake Purchase Order" Scams

Suppliers should always contact the companies requesting the orders directly to verify the validity of the requests. And, they should not contact the numbers or email addresses used in the requests because they could be fakes. Instead, they should go to the legitimate companies' websites or look up their information in a legitimate directory.

waiting