Verifying wire instructions requires access to credible account data, giving the ability to highlight information mismatches or suspicious account activity in real-time. It’s an important part of the zero trust architecture: an approach that many firms are implementing in order to protect against wire transfer fraud.
Trustpair verifies wire instructions safely by authenticating bank account ownership in real-time, and today we’re sharing how you can do the same. You’ll also learn how to spot the most common wire fraud red flags, and how to keep verification compliant while scaling.
Avoiding Wire Transfer Fraud Through Wire Instructions Verifications: Key Takeaways
- Wire instructions can be verified through following documented procedures, validating the sender details, performing multi-factor authentication, and updating the supplier database.
- Wire instructions are the key – they hold the details of the associated payment account
- There are financial, reputational and operational risks associated with not verifying wire instructions
- Automation can help businesses to scale their payments while remaining compliant
What steps should teams follow to confirm wire instructions securely?
- Follow documented procedures
- Validate sender details
- Perform multi-factor authentication
- Update your supplier database
Traditional verification methods – relying on spreadsheet information, emails, phone callbacks, etc – has limitations in terms of efficiency and security. The only way to safeguard against fraud is to use secure automated systems.
1. Follow documented procedures
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are common across all departments in workplaces, and having a clear documentation process is the first step in preventing wire fraud. They establish formal and multi-layered approaches, protecting against both intentional attacks by organized criminals, and accidental mistakes from unsuspecting colleagues.
So, what should your wire fraud SOPs cover?
| Criteria | Importance | Example |
| Workflow | Colleagues should know the exact steps they should take, and in what order, to minimize vulnerability and exposure to wire fraudsters | “Exceptions are not permitted unless approved in writing by both the CFO and the Controller. Any approved exception must be documented and attached to the payment record.” |
| Verification systems | Team members should know the exact verification methods and steps they should go through to validate sender, receiver, account or company details | “If the payment request comes through from an internal team member, contact them through verified channels (such as performing a call back procedure) to check whether it was really them who sent the request.” |
| Payment authorisation | You’ll need to clearly assign the responsibility of approver roles to follow the four eyes principle | “Team member 1 will collect the invoice and draft the wire fraud request.Team member 2 will independently verify the request.Team member 3 will make the payment.” |
| Flagging suspicious activity | Reviewers should know their next steps in case of suspicious activity detection so that they can act as quickly as possible | “Immediately stop the payment process if you notice one of the following red flags. Notify the designated personnel and preserve the evidence.” |
| Reporting fraudulent activity | If fraud is discovered, how can the team minimize losses? | “You must report your suspicion within the same business day to the financial controller and IT team for further investigation.” |
2. Validate sender details
Validating the sender details means checking whether the account name, account number, sort code (or IBAN for international payments) and bank name match with external records.
When wire fraud occurs, the sender typically impersonates someone else to get the payment approved. This could be a known supplier, a third party like the HMRC, or someone else. But by validating the account details, you’ll uncover if you’re routing the payment to a mismatched account.
3. Perform multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication is built into the wire instruction verification process because it helps prevent account takeover. It protects your internal systems against cybercriminal attacks, requiring the payee to verify their identity by information other than their log-in details.
Typically, this happens as a code sent to their trusted device or account, like to their email address or phone number. Multi-factor authentication is therefore beneficial for protecting against remote attacks.
4. Update your vendor database
Updating your supplier database should be a continuous task anyway. It’s best practice, aids with supplier oversight, helps performance reporting and minimizes reputational risks.
But instead of blindly updating the information when you get a ‘change of account details’ notification, it should be part of your verification process. All wire instruction changes should be treated with suspicion and thoroughly verified, as these changes are often targeted by fraudsters. This ensures that only verified data is input. Only with this guarantee can the ‘clean’ data be used as the trusted source of truth when requests come in.
What are wire instructions and why do they need verification?
In the UK, wire instructions typically refer to bank transfer instructions, including Faster Payments, CHAPS, and international SWIFT transfers.
They include amount details, along with sender and receiver account information. These details are sent in a specific network from the sending bank to the receiving bank, therefore acting like instructions, hence the name.
But while the wire transfer infrastructure is incredibly secure, wire instructions can sometimes be intercepted and altered by fraudsters. They impersonate legitimate businesses or individuals to trick organizations into changing bank account details and wiring money to the wrong recipient.
Common wire transfer scams include:
- Business email compromise: phishing emails can entice team members to click on false links and download malware, providing direct access their workflow systems
- Credentials harvesting: similar to the above, phishing emails can contain spoofed web pages duplicating wire payment systems, encouraging users to submit their login details, which are then seen and stolen by attackers
- Vendor email compromise: cybercriminals hack into supplier systems and change the bank details on invoices, or send emails requesting a change of bank details
- CEO fraud: finance and procurement team members may be targeted by someone impersonating a senior figure in the business, asking for a direct payment to be made
- Employee fraud: without the proper controls, those managing the payments themselves may find the opportunity to send wire transfers to their own accounts, and edit the accounting documents to match and cover their fraud
On the B2C side, investment scams that guarantee returns or promise ‘no risk’ and romance scams are common threats.
What red flags indicate that wire instructions may be fraudulent?
Despite advanced techniques, there are some telltale signs that wire instructions can be fraudulent:
- If the name on the account does not match the account details:
Fortunately, modern payment systems like SWIFT will automatically flag when the name on the account does not match with the name on the wire instructions.
Not only is this flagged to the sender, but the payment network itself may put a delay on the payment or automatically reject it when this occurs. It enables the sender to straight to the bank to ensure they have the correct information – a form of third party verification.
- If the request is sent with urgency:
One of the most common red flags of wire fraud is when the requester applies urgency tactics – scammers use these high pressure techniques to convince victims to send money quickly. This is a form of social engineering technique, with the goal being that the payee doesn’t take the time to question whether the payment is legitimate.
- If the request is unexpected:
Most of the time, procurement teams know when they are expecting an invoice, or making another payment such as for an acquisition, in advance. When payment requests come out of the blue, alarm bells should ring. Sure, sometimes this can happen and is down to miscommunication, or last minute decisions.
Users can avoid this by keeping their supplier database up-to-date, including noting upcoming work, and when invoices are expected. Most of this can be automated to avoid creating too much manual work.
If you have any doubt about the legitimacy of an unexpected wire transfer request, hang up or pause and verify the request through a trusted channel before taking any action.
- If there are inconsistencies or errors in language:
When generic greetings, spelling errors and weird grammar accompany wire fraud instructions, it might be a signal that the payment request is fraudulent.
It can be easy to spot language patterns when payment requests are regular, so language that goes against these patterns can signal fraud. Some fraudsters are even using AI to send messages with their wire instructions now, which has its own telltale signs.
- If the payment method is unusual:
If you normally pay suppliers by bank transfer, for example, and they suddenly send wire instructions, your team should grow suspicious. Fraudsters prefer to use wire transfers because they are instant payments, making it harder to recover the funds once sent. Any atypical request should be verified.
What risks come with relying on manual wire instruction verification?
Relying on manual verification for wire instructions exposes your organization to financial losses, reputational damage and operational inefficiencies.
Operational risks
The operational risks of manual verification are the most obvious; enterprise businesses simply don’t have the time to dedicate a whole department in validating payment details. Especially when you consider that there are thousands of suppliers who need to be paid every single month.
The cost of dedicating internal resources to manual verification quickly adds up, especially for finance teams processing thousands of supplier payments each month. Wouldn’t you rather automate the verification process and have your team members focus on tasks with a higher ROI?
Plus, errors are part of human nature, and so relying on this method alone could still let fraudsters slip through the cracks.
Financial risks
The ultimate goal of wire fraud is to secure a sum of money through the transfer of funds electronically. Because manual verification can be exploited, the potential losses due to this fraud are huge. Compliance wise, organizations can also be held liable for losses if they fail to implement proper verification processes.
One of the most common aspects of manual verification is the reliance on one team member to independently verify the payment details. But without the separation of duties, that team member could easily miss something, or seize the opportunity to commit fraud themselves.
According to data from the UK’s leading fraud prevention body Cifas, employee theft and misuse of company accounts increased by nearly 74% in recent reporting, underlining the importance of strong internal controls and verification procedures.
Reputational damage
Falling victim to wire fraud due to inadequate manual verification procedures can also lead to devastating secondary consequences, once the news is made public. This reputational aspect is not typically considered, but could end up costing your business more than the fraud itself.
And unfortunately this consequence affects all parties involved.
In June 2025, Worldline, one of Europe’s largest payment processors, stock prices tumbled by 41%. The media uncovered Worldline’s participation in covering up payment fraud relating to its clients, failing to meet transparency requirements in anti-money laundering regulations. The company now faces an uphill battle to regain the trust of its investors.
How can automation and real-time validation improve wire instruction security?
Automation helps validate wire instructions in real-time and with 100% certainty. Flag suspicious transactions and apply automatic controls when suspicious activity is detected.
This is better than manual reviews because it delivers the result almost instantly, ensuring that you can stop payments before they are made. With wire transfers often resulting in unrecoverable funds, it’s important to work this quickly.
Moreover, the huge benefit of automated validation is that it’s unbiased. Automated validation doesn’t make mistakes, and unlike humans, it won’t exploit businesses from the inside out.
In fact, Trustpair validates all electronic payment methods in real-time, protecting your business across its full suite of payment types. By checking payment details against historic payments, external account databases and blacklists, we only ‘greenlight’ accounts that match with 100% certainty.
And if it looks like you may not be paying who you think you are, we’ll flag the risks for review. Zoom in and out of the details while your accounts are automatically blocked from making this particular payment, until you’re satisfied about the identity of the receiver.
Try it out for yourself when you book a demo.
How can businesses keep their wire instruction process compliant and scalable?
Companies should prioritize clear processes, organized documentation, and leveraging automation in order to stay compliant, even as they scale.
As mentioned, enterprise-level businesses are dealing with hundreds, if not thousands of supplier payment requests every single month. Maintaining high-quality validation and compliance is clearly more difficult when there’s so much more to manage.
But clear processes can make sure that:
- Key checks are not missed
- Businesses are protected against typical workflow vulnerabilities
With organized documentation, it’s much easier to follow the money trail. This can be helpful in assigning roles and determining accountability for validation procedures. But it’s extra beneficial when auditors come knocking – as it’ll help them to quickly decide whether you’re following the regulations compliantly or not.
Finally, automation can unblock one of the biggest blockages in the wire fraud verification process – as it works in real-time and with certainty. Leveraging this means that you no longer have to rely on human team members to pour over account details, copying and pasting the correct numbers into your supplier database. Instead, with data sharing and smooth integrations, automation can ensure you scale vendor verification with ease.
Avoid payment fraud through bank account ownership verification
Wire instructions are the key piece of information for detecting fraud attempts. Without verifying this data, companies could face severe financial losses, reputational damage and operational delays. But even high-scale organizations can manage these checks effectively by using automation, such as Trustpair’s payment verification platform, for 100% certainty.