Question 1

What is the difference between fake proof of payment and mandate fraud?

Accepted Answer

Fake proof of payment fraud forges a document claiming a transfer has already happened, used to convince a seller to release goods before checking their account. Mandate fraud instead forges bank account details to redirect a genuine, intended payment to an account the criminal controls. The two can overlap in a single scam, but the document being forged and the moment it is used are different.

Question 2

Can a fake SWIFT MT103 confirmation be verified as genuine?

Accepted Answer

A payer's bank or an independent SWIFT tracing request can confirm whether a message was actually transmitted, but a recipient cannot verify a SWIFT confirmation from the document alone. There is no such thing as a "conditional" MT103 or MT103/23 that releases funds only once paperwork is completed; any confirmation claiming this feature is fabricated, regardless of how genuine the letterhead and field codes appear.

Question 3

How quickly do UK bank transfers actually clear?

Accepted Answer

Faster Payments transfers between UK banks typically complete within seconds to a few hours, and domestic transfers rarely take longer than one working day under normal circumstances. A payment described by the buyer as "pending" for several days on what should be a standard domestic transfer is inconsistent with how Faster Payments normally operates and warrants direct verification with your own bank before proceeding.

Question 4

Should a seller ever accept a payment confirmation instead of checking their own account?

Accepted Answer

No single document should substitute for confirming that funds have cleared in the seller's own account, checked directly through their own banking app or online banking rather than a link supplied by the buyer. Payment confirmations can support a decision once funds are independently verified, but on their own they carry no guarantee that money has actually moved.

Question 5

Who should be notified if goods were released against a fake payment proof?

Accepted Answer

Report the incident to Report Fraud, the successor service to Action Fraud, to obtain a crime reference number for any insurance claim or dispute. If a courier or delivery firm was used to collect the goods, notify that firm directly, since they may hold identifying information about the individual who collected the item, and contact your bank in case the same fraudster attempts a related scam through a linked account.

Question 6

How can I tell if a DBS certificate is fake

Accepted Answer

Check the physical format first: a genuine certificate is larger than A4, printed on both sides, uses purple ink for personal details, and carries a repeating crown seal watermark down the right edge. Reject any photocopy, scan, or photo submitted in place of the original, since reproductions cannot show these features, and where the certificate is Standard or Enhanced and the holder is subscribed, confirm status through the DBS Update Service.

Question 7

Can employers check a DBS certificate against a central database directly

Accepted Answer

Not independently. The DBS Update Service lets an employer check the status of a Standard or Enhanced certificate, but only with the holder's consent and only if the holder subscribed when the certificate was issued — there is no general lookup by name or certificate number available to employers outside that service. Basic checks and non-subscribed certificates cannot be status-checked this way at all, which is why HR teams sometimes assume a check is possible when it is not.

Question 8

Is using a fake or altered DBS certificate a criminal offence

Accepted Answer

Yes, on two separate legal bases. Fabricating or altering the certificate is an offence under section 1 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, and using it to obtain a job separately constitutes fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006. Both can apply even where the underlying conviction the certificate concealed was relatively minor.

Question 9

Can a Basic DBS check be legally upgraded to Enhanced without reapplying

Accepted Answer

No. Eligibility for a Standard or Enhanced check, which discloses spent convictions, depends on the specific role falling within the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 — a role only eligible for a Basic check cannot lawfully be issued a Standard or Enhanced result, and a certificate showing a higher disclosure level than the role qualifies for should be treated as a red flag rather than a bonus.

Question 10

What should an employer do if a DBS certificate looks genuine but the Update Service flags it

Accepted Answer

Contact DBS directly rather than accepting the certificate on the strength of its appearance. A mismatch between a certificate that looks clear and an Update Service result showing new information, or showing the certificate as no longer current, is a specific signal that DBS itself treats as worth investigating, and safer-recruitment guidance recommends withdrawing any conditional offer until the discrepancy is resolved.

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