The world's very first AI-powered invoice checker has been launched in a bid to help both large and small organisations minimise the risk of invoice fraud. The innovative new Check an Invoice tool uses artificial intelligence to 'learn' how to recognise incompatibilities and inconsistencies in invoice data, identifying and highlighting potentially fraudulent information that can easily be overlooked by corporate finance teams.

Invoice fraud, also known as Business Email Compromise. It occurs when emails containing invoice attachments are intercepted, and information such as bank details are replaced with alternative data. Globally, $12.5 billion was lost in 2018 through invoice fraud - a 135% increase on the previous year - and more than half of all SMEs in the UK have experienced an invoice fraud event. Invoice fraud can affect any businesses of any size, with even major players such as Facebook and Google have experienced this form of cyber attack in the past. 

“The potential impact invoice fraud will have in the coming years cannot be underestimated," says Check an Invoice CEO Firdaus Mogul, who has over 20 years experience in the financial industry. "It is the simplicity of the attack that makes it so dangerous, and unfortunately businesses are slow to recognise this threat" continues Mogul. "Even though anti-fraud software costs less than 0.01% of total payments, companies don’t see it as an urgent business need, typically not thinking to protect themselves until they've actually experienced an attack".

Mogul states that although artificial intelligence has been accessible for a few years, Check an Invoice is the first tool to fully utilise this technology to directly reduce instances of invoice fraud around the world. “Using AI to solve common cyber threats that affect all of us and results in billions of pounds of losses is very exciting, and it's fantastic to see technology not only identifying and preventing fraud but making it affordable, too".

Check an Invoice has been developed by industry leaders across the fintech, blockchain, crypto, AI, eCommerce, and technology sectors, and analyses 8 distinct data points - name & address, invoice number, supplier, costs, bank details, VAT calculations, seller information, and totals - to identify potential attacks and reduce the impact.

The world of cybersecurity is constantly changing as attackers develop new ways of accessing data and internal systems. Check an Invoice recognises that it's not always possible to completely eradicate the risk of fraud, but believes that the fallout of such an event can be minimised significantly by having the right processes, protocols, and tools in place.