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How to better avoid business email scams that look alarmingly real

Fake invoices. Hijacked email accounts. Trusted names used against you. Here’s help on how to stay one step ahead of scammers targeting Aussie small businesses.

  • Business email compromise is one of the most common scams affecting Australian companies1.
  • Scam emails often impersonate suppliers or senior staff, requesting urgent payment or banking changes.
  • Always call a trusted number to verify new payment details and never rely on contact info from the suspicious email.

You’ve sent a payment to your regular supplier. It’s business as usual until you find out it wasn’t them. The invoice was fake. The bank details were switched. And the money? Gone.

This is the costly reality of business email compromise, a popular scam hitting Australian businesses1.

“It usually starts with a fake email that looks like it’s come from a trusted supplier or even your boss,” explains James Roberts, CommBank scams and fraud expert. “Everything looks legitimate—the tone, the logo, even the email address. But behind the scenes, scammers are hijacking or impersonating accounts to redirect payments.”

And the damage isn’t small. Some scams cost businesses tens of thousands of dollars. As for what should raise your red flags, watch for slight misspellings in email addresses, urgent requests to update bank details or instructions to bypass approval processes.

You can also implement everyday protocols that keep you safe. “Always call a trusted contact—using a number you already have on file—to confirm any new or changed payment details,” says James. “Don’t rely on the contact information listed in the email or on the invoice itself.” A quick phone call may be all it takes to stop a scam before it starts.

Visit CommBank Safe for more information.

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Published: 3 November 2025

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1Australian Signals Directorate, 2023–24 Annual Cyber Threat Report

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