Chinese Supplier Changed Bank Details? Stop Before You Pay: How to Spot Payment Fraud and What to Do

Red flags in a bank change request

How these scams work

Business email compromise

Criminals gain access to a supplier or buyer email account, read the conversation, then send a genuine-looking invoice with new bank details at the moment a payment is due. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center has reported tens of billions of dollars in exposed losses from business email compromise worldwide, and said banks in Hong Kong and China were the main international destinations of fraudulent funds reported to it in 2022.

Look-alike accounts

Some scams use an email address one letter different from the supplier, or a free email account using the supplier name. On a phone screen these look almost identical.

Genuine changes do happen

Suppliers sometimes change banks or use a related trading company. That is exactly why you need a fixed verification process, so you can approve genuine changes calmly and block fake ones.

Why importers are targets

Importers make large international transfers on predictable schedules, such as deposits and balance payments before shipping. Our guide to safe payment terms with Chinese suppliers explains how to structure payments to reduce risk.

What to do when you receive new bank details

1. Do not pay and do not reply to the email that sent the change.
2. Call or video call your known contact using a number or app you already used before.
3. Ask the supplier to confirm the change on official company letterhead with a company seal, and check it matches your contract details.
4. Check that the beneficiary name matches the company on your contract, invoice history and business licence.
5. Ask your bank to help verify the beneficiary before you send funds.
6. Send a small test amount if you decide to proceed, and confirm receipt by call before the balance.
7. Update your supplier file and keep records of the verification.
8. Warn your team: anyone who pays invoices should follow the same process.

The treasure: a copy-paste verification script and payment checklist

• EMAIL TO SUPPLIER (new email, typed address, not reply): "Dear [Name], we received a request to change your bank account. Our policy is to verify all changes by phone or video call before any payment. Please do not send further bank details by email. We will call you on [known number] at [time]."
• CALL SCRIPT: "Hello [Name], this is [your name] from [company]. Did your company request a change of bank account on [date]? Please confirm the beneficiary company name, bank name and the last four digits of the account. Why did it change?" Write down answers and compare.
• WECHAT OR WHATSAPP CHECK: message the contact in the existing chat you used before, not a new contact sent in the email, and ask the same questions.
• DOCUMENT CHECK: company letterhead with seal / beneficiary name matches contract and business licence / bank country makes sense / signatory is someone you know.
• PAYMENT CHECKLIST BEFORE EVERY TRANSFER: beneficiary unchanged since last payment yes or no / invoice matches purchase order / amount matches agreed terms / second person approved / test amount sent if anything changed.
• INTERNAL RULE TO SHARE WITH YOUR TEAM: "No bank detail change is accepted by email alone. Every change is verified by call to a known number and approved by [owner or finance lead]."
• IF YOU ALREADY PAID: call your bank fraud team now / ask for a recall of the transfer / file a police report / tell the real supplier / keep all emails with full headers / change your own email passwords and turn on two-factor authentication.

A worked example

Picture a Dubai homeware importer waiting to pay the balance on an order before loading. An email arrives in the existing thread, from what looks like the supplier sales manager, saying the company bank is under audit and the balance must go to a new account in a different company name. The importer follows its rule: no payment on email alone. It messages the sales manager on the WeChat chat they have used for a year. The manager has sent no such request. The supplier email account had been compromised. The importer pays the correct account after a video call, both sides change passwords, and the shipment leaves on time.

Want Husbar to do this for you?

Husbar China Line can verify your suppliers, check documents and bank details, set up a safe payment process and manage production and inspections for you. Book a free Growth Audit or sourcing consultation through our contact page.

Protect your own email too

Scammers can hack the buyer side as well as the supplier. Turn on two-factor authentication for every email account, review email forwarding rules regularly, and train staff to spot login pages that ask for passwords. A short internal training on payment fraud costs little compared with one lost deposit.

Use separation of duties

The person who receives an invoice should not be the only person who approves and sends the payment. A second approval for new beneficiaries or changed bank details stops most frauds, because it forces a pause and a second pair of eyes.

Keep a supplier master file

Store each supplier company name, licence copy, verified bank details, verified contacts and the date of last verification in one secure file. Before every payment, compare the invoice with the file. Any difference triggers the verification process, no matter how urgent the request.

How Husbar helps

Husbar China Line verifies suppliers, checks documents and contracts, manages production and inspections, and helps importers set safe payment processes before money leaves their account. See how our China Line sourcing service works. Our China Line sourcing service (see the factory-to-door journey in 3D) can take this on end to end, or support your team. book a free Growth Audit.

Questions to ask before you start

• Do we have a written rule for bank detail changes?
• Who approves international payments?
• Do we verify through a known channel?
• Does the beneficiary match the contract?
• Do we know what to do in the first hour after a fraud?

Key terms

• Business email compromise (BEC): fraud using hacked or imitated business email.
• Beneficiary: the person or company receiving a payment.
• Recall request: a bank request to try to return a sent transfer.
• Look-alike domain: an email domain designed to look like a real one.
• Two-factor authentication: a second login check beyond the password.

Mistakes to avoid

• Replying to the suspicious email to verify it.
• Paying because of deadline pressure.
• Ignoring a different beneficiary name.
• Letting one person change and approve payments alone.
• Waiting days before calling the bank after a mistaken payment.

Why quality control is built into every order

Most problems with overseas manufacturing come from unclear specifications, skipped samples or no inspection before shipping. A sourcing partner on the ground in China checks factories, approves samples, inspects production and coordinates shipping, so issues are fixed before goods leave the factory rather than after they arrive.

Related reading: how to verify a Chinese supplier and avoid scams, Alibaba Trade Assurance explained, communicating with Chinese suppliers on WeChat and safe payment terms.