Invoice fraud often starts with a hacked mailbox or convincing supplier message. Speed matters, but so does preserving the evidence.
Prepared and reviewed by IT Life-Raft
UK-based IT support and cyber recovery guidance. Last reviewed September 2026.
If money has moved, contact your bank immediately using a known number. Then preserve the email thread, headers, phone numbers and payment details.
If you've been hacked, start with our step-by-step recovery checklist. It explains what to secure first, how to protect your email and accounts, what evidence to keep, and what to do next.
Recovery checklistIf this is happening, preserve evidence and move carefully before deleting messages, wiping devices or changing settings from a suspect device.
If this is happening, preserve evidence and move carefully before deleting messages, wiping devices or changing settings from a suspect device.
If this is happening, preserve evidence and move carefully before deleting messages, wiping devices or changing settings from a suspect device.
If this is happening, preserve evidence and move carefully before deleting messages, wiping devices or changing settings from a suspect device.
Keep the order simple: contain the issue, recover control, then strengthen the account or device so the attacker cannot return.
Record what you changed and keep screenshots or reference numbers where possible.
Record what you changed and keep screenshots or reference numbers where possible.
Record what you changed and keep screenshots or reference numbers where possible.
Record what you changed and keep screenshots or reference numbers where possible.
Record what you changed and keep screenshots or reference numbers where possible.
Review dual approval, callback procedures, bank-detail change controls and staff training so the same route is not used again.
If money, customer data, Microsoft 365, business email or a website is involved, get advice before wiping evidence or assuming the issue is closed.
These links help confirm the official recovery route. Use them alongside the checklist, especially when account recovery, fraud reporting or business data may be involved.
Sometimes, but speed matters. Contact the bank immediately and ask about recall or fraud recovery.
No. Use a known phone number or separate trusted route because the thread may be monitored.
Not always. It could be your mailbox, the supplier mailbox or a spoofed message, so both sides should check.
Tell us what happened, what is affected and whether money, customer data or business systems may be at risk.