THE UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has teamed up with the National Federation of Builders (NFB) to warn the construction sector of the growing risks of invoice fraud. The awareness campaign is aimed at accounts payable and finance personnel in the sector, as these are the individuals most commonly targeted by fake invoices.
The NCA cited figures from Report Fraud revealing that these scams cost victims almost £4m ($5.3m) in September 2025 alone, with 83 cases reported, and separate analysis from the fraud reporting centre claimed that construction and manufacturing accounted for a quarter of invoice fraud in 2024/25 – more than any other sectors.
The NCA said that construction is particularly exposed to these scams because of the complex web of contractors, sub-contractors, consultants and other suppliers that work in the sector, with frequent high-value payments usually invoiced via relatively insecure email channels. Nick Sharp, deputy director of fraud at the NCA’s National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), claimed invoice fraud has a huge impact on corporate victims.
The article also outlines practical steps for preventing fraud, including verifying changes to invoice details and securing IT systems with MFA and up-to-date anti-malware.