Invoice fraud is one of the fastest-growing threats facing finance teams — a trend we’ve explored throughout this week’s Fraud Awareness content. Earlier, we highlighted the key red flags every finance team should recognise. Two of the most common warning signs are:
- Bank account mismatch — a new or unfamiliar IBAN appearing on the invoice
- Unusual formatting or tone — an invoice that looks different in layout, logo, or file type
These signals are easy to overlook, especially when invoices arrive as PDF attachments via email. Many organisations believe that moving from paper to email has improved security, but fraudsters have adapted even faster.
This is why more businesses are turning to a more secure and reliable solution: e-invoicing.
From post to email: how fraudsters adapted
A few years ago, criminals intercepted physical mail to change invoice details. Today, this tactic has simply moved online.
Fraudsters now:
- hack or gain access to email accounts,
- create look-alike (spoofed) domains,
- resend modified PDF invoices with updated bank details, and
- add urgency with “pay now” messages to pressure teams.
Because these emails look legitimate, finance teams often approve payments before realising the invoice has been manipulated. This is why relying on PDFs — even those that look professional — is no longer enough to ensure invoice authenticity.
How e-invoicing minimizes these red flags
e-invoicing dramatically reduces fraud because security is built into the process, not added as an afterthought.
✔ Verified senders only
e-invoicing networks such as PEPPOL allow invoice exchange only between validated and trusted trading partners. Spoofed or unknown senders cannot enter the system.
✔ Encrypted, tamper-proof transmission
Invoices travel as structured XML over encrypted and authenticated channels. They cannot be intercepted, altered, or forged — unlike PDF attachments sent by email.
✔ No formatting tricks
e-invoices contain structured data, not a visual layout.
There are no logos, templates, or file types to manipulate — removing an entire category of fraud red flags.
✔ Full traceability and regulatory compliance
Every step of the exchange is logged and securely stored, supporting GDPR and EU e-invoicing standards.
✔ Fewer errors and duplicates
Automatic data validation prevents typing mistakes, duplicate invoices, and fraudulent look-alike documents.
In short: e-invoicing replaces an insecure email channel with a secure, encrypted, fully controlled data exchange.
You can read more in Telema’s e-invoicing overview.
Closing the biggest gap: supplier adoption
E-invoicing offers the highest level of protection only when suppliers use it as well.
If part of your vendor base still sends PDF invoices by email, those invoices remain vulnerable to:
- spoofed sender addresses,
- edited attachments,
- fraudulent bank-detail changes, and
- look-alike invoice templates.
Once suppliers switch to e-invoicing, invoices move through authenticated channels, bank accounts are validated automatically, and every transmission is logged — closing the weak points fraudsters rely on.
To support this transition, download our free guide: “How to onboard your suppliers to e-invoicing”.
Beyond security: enabling smart AP automation
While security is a major driver, one of the biggest long-term advantages of e-invoicing is the automation it enables.
Because e-invoices arrive as structured data, they flow directly into Telema eFlow without manual handling.
In eFlow, invoices can be:
- routed for approval based on a specific information,
- assigned to the correct responsible person, or
- processed according to predefined workflow rules.
You can also code invoices line by line, because each e-invoice includes line-level details.
This transforms your AP processes into smarter, more automated, and far more accurate than anything possible with PDF invoices.
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