iCare NSW uplifts invoice fraud protection

NSW' workers’ compensation insurer iCare will uplift its scam and fraud controls by cross-matching service providers' information against real-time, banking and compliance data before making payments.

The NSW government-run corporation will integrate a secure payment platform over its banking portal that scans suppliers' details when onboarding them, receiving invoices and making payments.

Sydney-headquartered startup Eftsure was selected to verify vendors that provide services to iCare's Lifetime Care, Workers' Care, Dust Diseases Care and CTP Care schemes.

Eftsure will compare information in its proprietary database of pre-verified vendors with iCare's suppliers' details and automatically flag suspicious changes.

“Our new verification approach makes complex provider verification processes simpler and provides ongoing assurance against maliciously changed bank account details,” iCare NSW's group executive of lifetime schemes Dr Nick Allsop said.

Eftsure will protect iCare against business email compromise (BEC) attempts by identifying breaches in pre-set payment thresholds and any lapses in iCare's suppliers' tax and business registration status and certifications.

BEC can include compromising a vendor’s email account to alter invoices, impersonating one of the vendor's executives or registering a domain with a similar name to the vendor, and sending fake invoices to its clients and trading partners.

"Invoice manipulation by malicious agents and scammers is a real threat to businesses small and large," Allsop said.

"According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in 2021, payment redirection scams cost Australians $227 million.

“We take seriously our responsibility to identify errors, fraud and scam attempts before releasing funds.”