Authorised Push Payment (APP) Fraud
Social engineering schemes where victims are manipulated into authorising real-time payments to accounts controlled by fraudsters. Includes impersonation of banks, HMRC, solicitors, and romance scams, with losses often irrecoverable once funds are moved through mule networks.
What it is
Social engineering schemes where victims are manipulated into authorising real-time payments to accounts controlled by fraudsters. Includes impersonation of banks, HMRC, solicitors, and romance scams, with losses often irrecoverable once funds are moved through mule networks.
Control objective
Detect and prevent authorised push payment fraud by identifying behavioural anomalies in payment initiation, payee risk signals, and receiving-account velocity patterns, while minimising friction for legitimate payments.
Data required
- Payment amount, currency, and channel (app, online banking, branch)
- Payee account details and Confirmation of Payee (CoP) response
- Customer device fingerprint and session behaviour
- Historical payee relationship (new vs. established)
- Time-of-day and day-of-week payment patterns
- Customer age, vulnerability indicators, and account tenure
- Receiving account velocity and age
- Prior fraud reports or warnings linked to payee account
Related typologies (Fraud)
Unusual Business Activity vs Declared Profile
Transaction activity that is materially inconsistent with the customer's declared business profile, sector, or expected turnover, potentially indicating front company activity, invoice fraud, or undisclosed business changes.
Insurance & Claims Fraud
Fraudulent insurance claims including staged or fabricated losses, inflated or exaggerated claim values, duplicate claims across insurers, and organised claims rings operating across multiple policyholders. Proceeds are extracted as claim settlements and may be laundered through linked bank accounts.
Business Email Compromise & Invoice Redirection
Business email compromise and mandate or invoice redirection fraud. Attackers impersonate suppliers, executives, or counterparties to redirect legitimate payments to fraudster-controlled accounts using altered bank details, often followed by rapid layering through mule accounts to extract funds.
Romance & Investment Scams
Romance and investment scams, including pig-butchering, where victims are manipulated over time into sending payments to scam-controlled bank accounts or crypto wallets. Payments are often escalating, made to fake investment platforms, and rapidly layered or converted to crypto by the receiving network.
Account Takeover Fraud
A fraudster gains control of a genuine customer's account through credential theft, phishing, or SIM-swap, then changes device, contact, or beneficiary details before rapidly draining funds to mule accounts. Speed and post-compromise profile changes distinguish takeover from normal customer behaviour.