AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
A fake purchase order uses a well-known company's name and logo to get goods delivered on credit to an address the fraudster controls; the supplier is never paid. Verify every new PO by calling the company on a number you found yourself on its official website or a directory, not the number on the PO, and treat a delivery address that is not one of the company's own sites as a serious warning.
How the fake PO scam works
A supplier receives an email with a purchase order that looks right: the company logo, a PO number, a procurement officer's name, payment terms of 30 or 60 days. The goods are usually easy to resell, such as laptops, toner, phones, generators, cement, drinks or fuel. The order asks for delivery to a "project site", "new warehouse" or "regional office". Once the goods arrive, they are moved and sold, and when the invoice falls due the real company has never heard of the order.
This is not unique to Nigeria. The engineering firm GHD, for example, publishes a warning that fraudulent purchase orders using its logo aim to have high-value goods delivered to the fraudster's location, after which the supplier is not paid. Its red flags travel well: a wrong email domain, a delivery address that is not a company office, phone numbers not on its contact page, large quantities of high-value items, and urgent shipping.
The delivery-address trick
The delivery address is where the scam has to reveal itself. A real company can of course use a new site, but a fraudster needs the goods to go somewhere they control. Watch for:
- A residential address, a hotel, a shop in a market, or a "warehouse" with no company signage.
- An address that changes after you agree to deliver, or a request to meet the driver "at the junction".
- A request to hand goods to a named individual rather than a stores or receiving department.
- A request to use the buyer's own transporter, who collects from your premises.
Big organisations normally receive goods through a stores or receiving team that signs a goods received note. Ask how goods are received and who will sign. A vague answer is useful information.
Verifying through the company switchboard
The rule that defeats most fake POs is simple: verify through a channel the fraudster did not give you. The Nacha guidance on business email compromise makes the same point for payment changes: look the number up yourself in a directory, do not use the number in the email, and remember that caller ID can be spoofed.
- Find the company's official website yourself (search for it; do not click a link in the email) and note its main phone number.
- Call that number and ask for procurement or accounts payable. Give them the PO number, date and the officer's name, and ask them to confirm the order and the delivery address.
- Check the email domain letter by letter against the website. A free email service or a domain with an extra word or letter is a red flag.
- Search the company on the CAC public search to confirm the registered name and number, and compare with the PO.
- Ask to be set up as a vendor in the normal way. Real companies have vendor forms, tax details and bank details checks.
Protecting yourself on credit terms
Even with a real customer, credit is a risk you are choosing. For a first order from a new customer, a deposit or full payment before delivery is normal practice. If you agree credit terms, cap the first order, deliver only to a verified company site, get a signed and stamped delivery note with the receiver's name, and do not send a second order until the first invoice is paid.
Worked example
Example only. Chidi supplies office equipment. He receives a PO from what looks like a large manufacturer for 25 laptops at ₦780,000 each, ₦19,500,000 in total, 30-day terms, delivery to an address in a residential estate. The email domain has an extra hyphen. He calls the manufacturer's head office number from its website; procurement has no such PO and no officer of that name. Had he delivered, his exposure would have been the full ₦19,500,000 plus transport.
If you have already delivered
- Contact the real company at once with the PO and email; it may have seen the same scam and can confirm it is fake in writing.
- Report to the police with the PO, emails, delivery note, vehicle details and the address, and to the NPF National Cybercrime Centre portal.
- If the fraudster paid you anything by transfer, tell your bank; if they asked you to refund an overpayment, do not.
- Warn your trade association so others are not caught by the same order.
Why big names are used
Fraudsters borrow well-known names because suppliers are keen to win them as customers and are less likely to ask hard questions of a famous company. A supplier who would demand a deposit from an unknown shop will often accept 30-day terms from a household name. That is the gap the scam exploits. Treat the size of the name as a reason to check more carefully, not less. Large companies also expect suppliers to verify, and most have a procurement contact who will gladly confirm or deny an order.
Where Pryme fits
On a Pryme Business Account, the Sales agent and Finance agent prepare work such as new-customer records and invoices, and a person approves above a set ceiling, so a first order on credit gets a second look. Invoicing lets you set deposit terms in writing. See also fake bulk orders and invoice fraud with changed account numbers.
Questions people ask
How do I know if a purchase order is real?
Call the company's main number from its official website, not the number on the PO, and ask procurement to confirm the PO number and the delivery address. Check the email domain against the website.
Is a PO with a company stamp and logo proof the order is real?
No. Logos, stamps and signatures are easy to copy. Only confirmation from the company through a channel you found yourself is reliable.
Why would scammers want goods delivered to a different address?
Because they need to take the goods before the company learns of the order. Delivery to a site that is not the company's own, or hand-over to a named individual, is the main warning sign.
Can I recover goods delivered on a fake PO?
Report to the police quickly with the delivery details; goods are sometimes traced while still in transit or storage. Recovery is uncertain, which is why verification before delivery matters.
Sources
- GHD: Warning - fraudulent purchase orders (scam awareness page) · accessed Oct 2026
- Nacha: Business Email Compromise Action Plan (2024) · accessed Oct 2026
- Legit.ng: How to verify a CAC certificate online (11 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Techeconomy: Nigeria Police launches platform for reporting cybercrime (31 May 2024) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.