The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has teamed up with the National Federation of Builders (NFB) to warn the construction sector of the growing risks of invoice fraud.
The awareness campaign is aimed at accounts payable and finance personnel in the sector, as these are the individuals most commonly targeted by fake invoices.
The NCA cited figures from Report Fraud revealing that these scams cost victims almost £4m ($5.3m) in September 2025 alone, with 83 cases reported. Separate analysis from the fraud reporting center claimed that construction and manufacturing accounted for a quarter of invoice fraud in 2024/25 – more than any other sectors.
The NCA said that construction is particularly exposed to these scams because of the complex web of contractors, sub-contractors, consultants and other suppliers that work in the sector. Frequent high-value payments are usually invoiced via relatively insecure email channels.
Read more on invoice fraud: National Crime Agency and NatWest Issue Joint Warning Over Invoice Fraud Threat
Invoice fraud is a type of business email compromise (BEC) whereby fraudsters impersonate suppliers, changing their bank details on fake invoices in order to receive payment.
Sometimes the scammers will hijack email accounts in order to gather intelligence on suppliers, what invoices look like and when they are typically issued. They can then maximize their chances of being paid.
Sender domains are sometimes spoofed, or else supplier emails are hacked in order to send the fake invoices.
Nick Sharp, deputy director of fraud at the NCA’s National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), claimed invoice fraud has a huge impact on corporate victims.
“Businesses can be destroyed by a loss of cashflow from a fraudulent payment, and families and livelihoods are at serious risk of collapse if fraudsters are successful. By providing the correct information to those in a position to thwart the fraudsters’ efforts, we can stop the worst examples of invoice fraud in their tracks,” he added.
“That is why the NCA is actively targeting and disrupting the criminal networks behind invoice fraud through investigations and intelligence sharing with international partners. However, prevention remains equally as important as disruptions.”
Three Steps to Stop Invoice Fraud
The awareness campaign urged finance professionals in the construction sector to:
- Check for changes to invoice details (including bank details), especially if the sender is putting pressure on for a quick payment
- Verify invoices by calling the genuine supplier before transferring the funds. Emails can be intercepted by fraudsters
- Never transfer money until the details have been double checked as correct
The NCA also urged construction sector finance staff to look out for changes to supplier email addresses and any unusual language, grammar or spelling. It recommended high-value payments should only be authorized after checking with a colleague first.
IT systems should be secured with best practice password management and multi-factor authentication (MFA) and up-to-date anti-malware.
It’s not just construction that is being targeted by these scams: BEC cost victims nearly $2.8bn in 2024, making it the second-highest grossing cybercrime type, according to the FBI.
