Tiffany Vo, a 37-year-old former Amazon employee from Denver, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for stealing nearly $500,000 from Amazon.
Vo pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and admitted to a scheme to defraud Amazon while she worked there during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Between the summer of 2020 and June 2022, Vo misappropriated funds by fabricating invoices and expense reports for corporate event expenditures that never occurred.
Vo spent the stolen money on personal items, including designer handbags, sunglasses, condo payments, vehicles, exercise equipment, and beauty products. In addition to her prison sentence, Vo was ordered to pay restitution and will be under supervised release for three years. https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/10/17/former-amazon-employee-sentence-fir-fraud/8861729214866/ (Oct. 17, 2024).
Commentary
The perpetrator in the above matter submitted fraudulent invoices for payment. It is a common, effective scam because identifying fraudulent invoices is not easy. A scammer often will use a familiar invoice template. Nevertheless, there are some red flags.
First, know your vendors and check for discrepancies in vendor information, such as slight variations in the company name, address, or contact details. Criminals often make small changes to a legitimate vendor's name or make mistakes when trying to imitate a vendor's invoices.
Next, review the formatting. Fake invoices may have poor-quality logos, a different layout, or inconsistent fonts and colors. Look for signs that someone "cut and pasted" graphics and contact information.
Also, look for charges that are not part of the agreement. This can include inflated prices, additional fees, wrong dates, or items that were never ordered.
An obvious sign is receiving a duplicate invoice for the same service or product. This could indicate a scam where a fake invoice was sent to look like it was from a real vendor, or it could be an attempt to get paid twice for the same work.
Always be aware of invoices that create a sense of urgency to rush the payment process, such as a claim of a "past due" or that the invoice is in "collections". Additionally, if an invoice demands immediate payment but provides no valid reason, it is worth investigating.
Sometimes invoices do not match up with past invoices or other records. Verify the vendor's contact information and payment details to ensure they match your existing records.
Finally, check the email addresses of the sender of the invoice. If the invoice is sent from an email address that doesn't match the vendor's official domain, you need to take a second look – this could be spear phishing.
The final takeaway is that each invoice needs to be investigated and cleared before you make a payment. Anything that appears out of order should be a red flag that requires investigation.
