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Payment change checklist
Use this before anyone changes where a vendor, landlord, contractor or employee gets paid.
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Rule
No one changes where a payment goes on the strength of an email, a text, or a call they didn't place.
Before the change
- Treat the request as unverified, even if it seems to come from the owner, a manager or a longtime vendor.
- Call back on a number you already had (vendor file, contract or an older invoice), never one from the request.
- Confirm details only the real contact knows: that they made the request, and the amount and date of your last payment.
- Second person approves the new details. Not the person who received the request.
- Ignore urgency. Deadlines, threats of late fees and requests for secrecy mean slow down.
- Write it down: who asked and how, who verified, the number called, who approved. Keep the original message.
- Confirm the first payment arrived with your known contact.
Direct deposit changes
Employees change their own banking details inside the payroll system, behind multi-factor authentication. Confirm any change with the employee in person or by phone before the next payroll.
If money already went out
- Call your bank's fraud line now. Ask for a wire recall or ACH return.
- File at ic3.gov with the transaction details.
- Secure the email account. Don't delete anything.
- Notify your insurer. If patient information was in the mailbox, call your privacy officer or attorney.
From “Verify every payment change” by Andrew Pizzello, CPA, andrewpizzello.com/guides/verify-payment-changes. Free to share under CC BY 4.0. General information, not legal advice.