Phase 2 — Digital and Emerging Schemes · 8 min read
14 · Fictitious Customers Used to Hide Missing Inventory
Fake sales to nonexistent customers that explain away inventory that was actually stolen.
01The sale that never shipped
When inventory is stolen, the books must explain its absence. The cleanest cover is a sale — to a customer who does not exist, invoiced at a price that clears the stock, with no shipment ever made. The inventory disappears into a receivable that is never collected and is eventually written off as a bad debt, closing the loop.
- Customers with no contact details, no purchase history, and no recurring orders.
- Receivables aged well beyond normal terms, written off in clusters at year-end.
- Shipments recorded with no corresponding freight, packing, or delivery records.
- Customers whose addresses match employees, owners, or post office boxes.
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10 · Payment Apps and Unauthorized Payment Links
Customer payment links pointing to a personal account on a consumer payment app.
11 · Leads and Customers Redirected Through Social Media
Business-generated leads and customers steered to a competing venture owned by the fraudster.
12 · AI-Assisted Documents and Impersonation
Invoices, signatures, and communications fabricated or altered with generative AI tools.
13 · Cryptocurrency Receipts Diverted to Private Wallets
Crypto payments accepted on the business's behalf but routed to a wallet the partners cannot see.