Scam alert
A Vendor Emails New Bank Details? Call Them Before You Pay
Posted
Alabama · mynbc15.com · Arrives by an email
The short answer
An email from a vendor you already work with that asks you to change where you send a payment is the sign to stop. In October 2026, the BBB of Central and South Alabama warned businesses about this scam after the City of Mobile lost $14.7 million and another local business nearly lost more than $750,000. Before you change any payment details, call the vendor at a number you already have on file.
What is happening
In October 2026, the BBB of Central and South Alabama warned that scammers pose as a vendor a business already trusts, sometimes by hacking into email accounts, and ask for a payment change so the money goes to an account they control. The warning came after the City of Mobile lost $14.7 million; 1819 News reported that a fraudster contacted city officials in May, posed as a vendor connected to the construction of Mobile's Regions Arena, and by October the city had sent the money, and that the FBI and Secret Service are investigating. NBC 15 reported that another local business nearly lost more than $750,000 the same way.
How to recognize it
- An email from a vendor you already pay says their bank details have changed and asks you to send the next payment to a new account.
- It asks you to change how you pay, such as switching from a paper check to a wire transfer.
- The email looks normal and may come from the vendor's real address, because the scammer may have broken into that account.
- There may be no bad link or attachment at all. The scam works through one payment change that nobody checks.
What to do instead
- Do not change payment details because of an email, even one from a vendor you know.
- Call the vendor at a phone number you already have on file, not one in the email, and confirm the change.
- Require more than one person to approve large payments and any change to payment details.
- Train everyone who pays invoices to stop and check payment changes the same way.
- If you want to tell someone, the rule is: a new bank account for a vendor gets a phone call to a number you already have.
If it already happened
Responding to one of these is common and understandable. These steps are what people usually take next.
- Call your bank right away and ask whether the payment can be stopped or recalled.
- Report it to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
- Tell the real vendor, using a number you already have, so they can check whether their email account was broken into.
Common questions
- The email came from our vendor's real address. Doesn't that make it safe?
- No. The BBB of Central and South Alabama says scammers can impersonate trusted vendors by hacking into email accounts. A real address is not proof that the vendor sent the request.
- We didn't click anything. How could this be a scam?
- The BBB says this scam does not need a virus, a bad link or ransomware. It needs research, patience, and one payment change that never gets verified.
Practice this safely
Practice pausing on a payment change and calling the sender on a number you already have.
Every story is fictional. There is no timer, no score, and no real message, payment, or account.
Tell someone
Copy a short note you can paste into a text or email. It names the scam, the next step, and this page. Nothing is sent from this site.
A Vendor Emails New Bank Details? Call Them Before You Pay An email from a vendor you already work with that asks you to change where you send a payment is the sign to stop. In October 2026, the BBB of Central and South Alabama warned businesses about this scam after the City of Mobile lost $14.7 million and another local business nearly lost more than $750,000. Before you change any payment details, call the vendor at a number you already have on file. Read the full alert: https://endscamsproject.com/latest-scams/vendor-payment-change-email-scam
Where this comes from
These links open the published sources in a new tab. The destination is shown before you open it.
- NBC 15: Email scam that cost City of Mobile $14.7M also targeting Alabama businesses (October 28, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
mynbc15.com
- 1819 News: Alabama businesses targeted by same scam that cost Mobile $14.7 million (October 29, 2026) (opens in a new tab)
1819news.com
- Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (opens in a new tab)
ReportFraud.ftc.gov
The full guide on this
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This alert provides general educational information drawn from the sources above. It cannot determine whether a specific message you received is genuine, investigate an incident, or promise recovery or reimbursement.