Guide · Updated 2026-10-15 · By the PayOrScam team
How to verify a bank account change request
Fraudsters who gain access to (or imitate) a supplier's email often send a short message: "Please note our bank details have changed." Because the invoice itself is often real, this is hard to spot. Use this procedure every time.
Pause the payment. No change of bank details should be actioned the same day it's received.
Call the supplier on a number from your own records or their official website, never from the email requesting the change.
Ask them to confirm the details rather than reading them out yourself: account name, number and sort code/IBAN.
Ask your bank to run a payee-name check. In the UK this is Confirmation of Payee; in the EU, Verification of Payee. It tells you whether the name matches the account.
Check the account country: a UK supplier suddenly asking for payment to an overseas account is a red flag.
Send a small test payment for large amounts and confirm receipt by phone.
Record who verified it, when, and how.
If you've already paid, call your bank immediately; recovering funds is more likely the faster you act.