⚠ Fraud Awareness Hub

SWIFT Wire Transfer Fraud Warnings

The most common fraud types targeting international SWIFT payments — explained in plain English, with red flags, verification steps and what to do if you are targeted.

Received an MT103 or payment confirmation? Verify it is real in 30 seconds — paste the UETR into Ohmyfin's free tracker.

Verify Payment — Free

Golden Rule: Verify Before You Act

The single most effective protection against SWIFT payment fraud is to verify the UETR of any claimed payment on Ohmyfin before shipping goods, paying fees, or taking any irreversible action.

A genuine SWIFT payment shows ACSP (in transit), ACSC (settled), or ACCC (credited) status. A fake payment shows "not found". The check is free, instant, and requires no bank login.

10 SWIFT Fraud Types to Know

Fraud Warning
Fake MT103 Document Fraud
Scammers create forged MT103 SWIFT confirmation PDFs to deceive victims into releasing goods or funds.
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Fraud Warning
Advance Fee Fraud (419 / "Nigerian Prince" Scams)
Advance fee fraud uses fake SWIFT transfers, "blocked funds" and release fees to steal money.
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Fraud Warning
Business Email Compromise (BEC) Wire Fraud
BEC fraud redirects SWIFT wire transfers to criminal accounts by impersonating executives or suppliers.
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Fraud Warning
Fake SWIFT Payment Confirmation Portals
Fraudsters create fake SWIFT tracking websites and confirmation screens to make non-existent payments look real.
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Fraud Warning
Overpayment & Cheque Kiting SWIFT Scams
Overpayment scams send more than the agreed price via SWIFT wire and ask victims to refund the excess — before the original payment reverses.
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Fraud Warning
Wire Fraud Recovery Scams
After losing money to a SWIFT wire fraud, victims are often targeted by fake "fund recovery" services that steal a second time.
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Fraud Warning
Ghost Bank & Fictitious Bank Fraud
Fraudsters create fake banks with invented BIC codes and SWIFT credentials to produce fraudulent payment documentation.
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Fraud Warning
IBAN Swap & Invoice Interception Fraud
IBAN swap fraud intercepts supplier invoices and replaces the IBAN/bank account with a fraudulent one. A common BEC variant costing businesses millions. Verify wires on Ohmyfin.
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Fraud Warning
Money Mule Recruitment Fraud
Money mule recruitment offers easy work-from-home income to receive and forward SWIFT wire transfers. Participating is a serious criminal offence.
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Fraud Warning
Correspondent Bank Impersonation Fraud
Fraudsters impersonate correspondent banks and SWIFT intermediaries to intercept payments or extract fees.
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How Ohmyfin Helps Stop SWIFT Fraud

Ohmyfin queries SWIFT GPI and major correspondent bank portals directly. When you paste a UETR, we check whether a real payment exists in the SWIFT network with that identifier, the correct amount and the correct beneficiary. This check cannot be spoofed — a fake MT103 with an invented UETR will simply return "not found".

We also maintain a SWIFT code directory of 300+ major banks so you can verify that a BIC code in a payment document corresponds to a real institution before trusting any payment claim.