Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud

APP Fraud is a type of scam where criminals trick individuals into sending money to a fraudulent account. The fraudsters often use social engineering tactics, such as impersonating a legitimate company or person, to gain the victim’s trust and persuade them to authorise a payment. 

Some of the more common themes by which scammers will try to carry out APP Fraud include: 

• Impersonation Scams – fraudsters pose as legitimate businesses or individuals, such as bank employees or utility companies, and convince victims to transfer money to an account that has been created for fraudulent purposes, 
• Invoice Scams – scammers intercept legitimate invoices and alter payment etails, tricking businesses into ending payments to the fraudster’s account instead of the intended recipient, 
• Investment Scams – fraudsters promote fake investment opportunities, often promising high returns. Victims are persuaded to transfer money, which is then stolen, 
• CEO Fraud – fraudsters impersonate senior executives and send urgent emails to employees, instructing them to make immediate payments to a fraudulent account, 
• Romance Fraud – see above