Phase 1 — Classic Fraud Schemes · 8 min read
5 · Customer Payments Diverted from the Business
Customer remittances redirected to an account the company does not own.
01The diverted payment
A customer is told to send payment to a different address, a different bank, or a different name. The invoice is marked paid in the system, the customer believes the account is settled, and the money lands somewhere the partners never see. The scheme survives as long as nobody compares the receivables aging to the bank deposits.
- Customers who say they already paid, against a balance the books still show as open.
- Remittance advices addressed to a bank or lockbox the company does not use.
- A growing gap between invoiced revenue and deposited revenue for the same period.
- Address-change requests on customer accounts made outside the normal process.
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1 · Owner Withdrawals Disguised as Loans
Cash taken out of the company and recorded as a loan receivable instead of a distribution or salary.
2 · Gift Cards and Concealed Personal Spending
Gift cards bought as business expense and converted into anonymous personal spending power.
3 · Undisclosed Debt and Pledged Assets
Loans taken against company assets without partner knowledge or consent.
4 · Inventory Theft and Cash Skimming
The two oldest schemes — taking product before it is recorded, and taking cash before it is deposited.