Supplier Fraud & Verification
Case studies, risk patterns, and practical guides for Australian accountants and procurement teams.
Supplier Fraud Risk Is Not Credit Risk — and Treating It That Way Will Get You Burned
CreditorWatch and Equifax tell you whether a supplier will pay their debts. They don't tell you whether your supplier exists, whether they're banned from operating, or whether they'll disappear with your payment. Here's the difference.
The Procurement Manager's Guide to Supplier Fraud in Australia
From ghost suppliers to phoenix companies: a practical field guide to the 11 registers Australian procurement teams should run on every new supplier — and what each one actually tells you.
Sanctions Screening for Small Procurement Teams: DFAT Lists Without the Compliance Department
Your supplier in Singapore asks to change their bank details to a new account in Dubai. The invoice looks routine. The goods are due tomorrow.
ASIC's CFD Review: Uncovering Hidden Risks in Counterparty Due Diligence
The ASIC review isn’t about whether your supplier’s bank details changed. It’s about whether they’re secretly leveraged to CFDs that could wipe them out overnight.
Proofpoint Warns of myGov & Invoice Scams: CFO Implications for Australian Suppliers
The invoice looks identical to the last twelve you paid. The supplier name, ABN, even the invoice sequence number are correct. Only the bank account details have changed — and the email came from a my
ASIC's Broker Review: Disclosure Gaps and Onboarding Risks
The email looked legitimate. Same supplier name, same invoice format, same payment amount you'd processed last month — only the BSB and account number had changed.
GST Invoice Fraud: Lessons for Australian Procurement and Compliance
The email arrived at 8:47 a.m. from a supplier you’ve paid for three years. The GST number on the invoice matched their ABN lookup. The amount was within the usual range for that quarterly service. On
ASIC's FY26 Enforcement Outcomes: Implications for Supplier Due Diligence
ASIC’s $830 million civil penalty haul in 2026 wasn’t built on one-off errors — it came from repeated failures in basic supplier verification that regulators now treat as systemic risk.
When a A$9.90 Check Is Worth More Than a Month of Emails
Network analysis and phoenix pattern checks are paid add-ons, priced per run not per month. Here is how to think about when they earn their cost — and how they compare to asking suppliers to send documents.
Unpacking Strategic Partnerships in AI: Competition Law Risks for Australian Businesses
A procurement team approves a joint AI development deal with a key supplier, sharing anonymised spend data to train a forecasting model. The contract looks standard — mutual NDAs, clear IP clauses — b
Uncovering Phoenix Activity: Lessons for Australian CFOs and Procurement Teams
The email says the supplier has moved offices. Their new invoice arrives with updated banking details, but the ABN checks out and the contact name is familiar. You process the payment without a second
How to Read a Gumshoe Verification Report: A Field Guide to the Results
Tiles, scores, PASS, WARN, FAIL, NA — your first verification report has a lot on it. Here is what each section means, what to action, and what to file.
Verifying a Sole Trader Supplier in Australia: What Changes and What Actually Matters
Sole traders account for a third of active Australian ABNs and present a completely different risk profile to companies. Here is how to read a sole trader verification without applying the wrong framework.
What A$2,000/Month Media Monitoring Services Miss About Your Suppliers
Media Monitors, Meltwater, and Cision are built for PR teams. Here's what happens when you apply them to supplier due diligence — and why the gap matters for procurement and finance teams.
Australian Finance Teams' Blind Spots in Payment Scams Exposed
A payment fraud incident often doesn’t start with a sophisticated hack, but a simple, almost imperceptible shift: a legitimate supplier’s invoice arrives, complete with the correct logo, sequential nu
Network Analysis: The Check That Looks Beyond the Supplier to Who's Behind It
A supplier's ABN can be clean while their directors are not. Network analysis cross-references director identities across ASIC, insolvency, and banned person records — and connects them to other entities you may already deal with.
Supplier Verification in Australia: What a Clean Result Actually Tells You
Every tile green, no flags. It's easy to scan a clean supplier check and move on. Here is what actually ran, what it found, and why a boring report is worth keeping as an audit record.
You Didn't Give Us a URL. Here's How Gumshoe Found It Anyway.
When you search a supplier by ABN, Gumshoe finds their website without you providing one. Here is how domain candidate matching works and what happens when a domain does not resolve.
Phoenix Beacon: Always-On Supplier Monitoring for Sole Traders and Small Teams
Enterprise teams have always been able to watch their supplier ledger automatically. Now sole traders and small teams can too — pick the 10 suppliers you rely on most and let Gumshoe watch them. Here is what changes and why it matters.
Address Verification: Why "123 Collins St" Isn't Good Enough
Over 40% of phantom supplier ABNs use a residential or serviced-office address. Gumshoe cross-checks the address on the invoice against ABR and ASIC records, Yellow Pages listings, and geocoding. Here is what three types of address mismatch actually signal.
Free-Range Labeling Laws: Compliance Risks for Australian Procurement
Last month, a major Australian supermarket chain continued to sell eggs labeled as 'free-range' even after the hens were moved indoors due to bird flu concerns, as reported by ABC (abc.net.au, 2026-08
Phone Verification: The Last-Mile Check That Catches Ghost Suppliers
Everything looks legitimate on paper: ABN active, address matches, website exists. The phone number is the one thing a ghost supplier cannot easily fake if they're not ready to answer. Here is what a recorded voice verification actually checks and when it matters most.
ATO Tax Transparency: What 4,119 Large Entity Tax Records Tell Us About Corporate Australia
The ATO's Corporate Tax Transparency Report covers every Australian entity with income over $100 million. Gumshoe has processed the full 4,119-entity dataset. Here's what it shows.
Government Contracts as a Trust Signal: Reading AusTender Like an Analyst
The tender win flashes green on the screen: $8.7 million over three years for road maintenance. Finance teams celebrate. Procurement logs the contract value. What stays unexamined is whether the suppl
Why You Should Check the Directors, Not Just the Company
The company checks out. ABN active, no insolvency, clean adverse records. But the director ran three other companies in the last five years — two are now deregistered with unpaid creditors. Here is what entity-level checks miss.
WGEA, Modern Slavery and B Corp: ESG Registers as Supplier Signals
A mid-sized construction firm in New South Wales recently discovered that their top supplier for timber had failed to file a Modern Slavery Statement for the third consecutive year, despite supplying
Invoice Fraud Prevention: CFO Strategies Amid ASIC Enforcement
An invoice lands in your inbox from "AusSteel Supplies ([email protected])", a vendor your company has paid 17 times in the last quarter. The invoice is for $8,421.50, the PO number mat
The NDIS in Numbers: What $50 Billion in Annual Payments Tells Us About Australia's Disability Services Market
Gumshoe has processed 120,774 NDIS payment records totalling over $544 billion in cumulative payments. Here's what the data reveals about Australia's largest social services market.
Tax Agent Verification: The Safe Harbour You Lose with an Unregistered Agent
A tax agent's invoice arrives, bearing a familiar name and a legitimate-looking ABN. Yet, in the event of an ATO audit, this invoice — and the work it represents — offers your company precisely zero p
ASIC's SMSF Auditor Crackdown: Lessons for CFOs on Supplier Due Diligence
The SMSF auditor you've relied on for years just signed off another clean report — but their ASIC registration was suspended three months ago.
The Business Name Trap: When the Trading Name Doesn't Match the ABN
A mid-sized engineering firm in Melbourne receives an invoice from "ElecTech Solutions" for $18,421. The email, logo, and invoice sequence match previous interactions, but the payment details point to
Payment Redirection Fraud: Why Every Bank Detail Change Deserves a Verification
A payment redirection looks like a typo. An email arrives from a long-term supplier, everything familiar—the logo, the invoice number sequence—except the BSB and account number. Trust in routine almos
Why Family Offices Are the Most Underserved Market for Corporate Intelligence in Australia
Family offices make significant investment decisions with limited research infrastructure. The intelligence gap is larger than most principals realise.
Uncovering Phoenix Activity in Australian Businesses
Phoenix activity is a pervasive issue in Australian businesses, with severe implications for the economy, creditors, and the community at large.
Uncovering Phoenix Activity in Australian Suppliers: Risks and Red Flags
As the Australian economy continues to navigate the challenges of a post-pandemic landscape, one issue that remains a persistent thorn in the side of businesses is phoenix activity.
The Eleven Registers Every Supplier Should Be Checked Against
There are eleven government registers relevant to business legitimacy in Australia. Manually checking each one takes 30–45 minutes per supplier. Here is what each register catches, and why no single check is sufficient.
Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence: The Public Records Every Buyer Should Check Before Signing
Before heads of agreement, before exclusivity — there is a set of public record searches every acquisition buyer should complete. Here is what they are.
Amazon's ACCC Lawsuit: Supplier Compliance Lessons for Australian CFOs
Australia's competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has taken Amazon Australia to the Federal Court, alleging the e-commerce giant engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in its promotion of Prime Video services.
The QuickScan Report: What 5 Pages of Public Data Can Tell You in 48 Hours
A walkthrough of what a QuickScan intelligence report contains, using a fictional composite entity to illustrate each section.
What Customer Reviews Tell You About a Supplier's Survival Odds
The pattern is consistent: suppliers that collapse in Q1 started getting terrible reviews 6–12 months prior. Reviews are a leading indicator of operational distress, not a vanity metric. Here is what three sources tell you that no register captures.
The Australian Supplier Risk Index: Mid-Year 2026 Update
Our quarterly analysis of supplier risk across the Australian business population. 16.8M ABN records, live insolvency data, verification signal trends, and what it means for procurement in H2 2026.
What Short Sellers Actually Want to Know (And How Public Records Answer It)
The information short-seller research teams need most is often already in the public record. Here is what Australian registers contain — and what they do not.
The Phoenix Index: What 3.85 Million Company Records Reveal About Australian Business Failure
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) maintains a register of over 3.85 million companies.
How Australian Accounting Firms Are Becoming the First Line of Supplier Fraud Defence
The liability landscape for accountants advising on payments is shifting. Here is how forward-thinking firms are building supplier verification into their advisory practice — and why it matters.
Network Analysis: Mapping the Hidden Connections Behind Australian Corporate Structures
A single ABN tells you almost nothing about the network surrounding an entity. Network analysis maps what a single lookup cannot.
Tackling Phoenix Activity in Australian Supply Chains
As the Australian economy continues to navigate the complexities of post-pandemic recovery, the spectre of phoenix activity looms large over the business landscape.
Fair Work Notices: The Supplier Red Flag Nobody's Checking
If a supplier has received a Fair Work compliance notice, someone has been underpaid. That someone may be the workers providing services to you — and depending on your industry, you can share liability. Here is what the compliance register covers and when it matters.
The Director Who Ran 14 Companies, 9 of Which Failed: Understanding Phoenix Risk
A composite case study built from real ASIC data patterns. How director networks create supplier risk, what the data reveals, and how to identify phoenix patterns before they cost you.
The Source Register: Why Every Claim in Our Reports Has a URL
We include a complete source register in every Intelligence Dossier. This is not a courtesy — it is the most important section of the report.
Detecting Supplier Invoice Fraud in Australia
Invoice fraud is a pervasive threat to Australian businesses, with the potential to cause significant financial losses and damage to reputation.
Verify Us First: How We Run Gumshoe Through Its Own Check
We ask you to trust Gumshoe with sensitive due diligence decisions. So we think it's only fair you can verify us before you pay us a cent.
How to Verify Supplier Bank Details Before Paying an Invoice
Invoice redirection fraud cost Australian businesses $79.4M last year. The ACCC and AFP agree it's the #1 business fraud type. Here are the five checks that stop it — and how to run them in under two minutes.
How We Reconstruct a Corporate Timeline From Public Records
A corporate timeline tells stories that individual data points cannot. Here is how we build one — and what sources make it possible.
Postcode Risk: Where Australian Businesses Fail at the Highest Rates
Using our database of 16.8 million ABN records, we mapped business failure rates by postcode across Australia. The patterns reveal significant geographic concentration of supplier risk.
Why Gumshoe Has a Labs Division — and How It Makes Verification Sharper
Labs is not a side project. It is the engine room where we stress-test our own intelligence by running it against live capital markets. Here is why that feedback loop makes your supplier checks more accurate.
What the Media Already Knows About Your Suppliers (That ABN Checks Don't)
ACCC investigations, Fair Work enforcement coverage, unpaid subcontractor disputes — these signals are in the public record before they show up in court. Here's how media monitoring fits into supplier due diligence.
Is Your Supplier on the ATO Tax Debt List?
Since 2019 the ATO has been disclosing businesses that owe more than $100K in collectable tax debt. Most AP teams have never heard of the list — but credit bureaus and banks have. Here is what it signals and why it matters before you pay.
What a Director History Can Tell You (That the Company Won't)
ASIC historical directorship data is public, comprehensive, and almost never checked. Here is what it reveals — and what patterns to watch for.
The Email Infrastructure Red Flag That Most Risky Suppliers Share
Our verification data shows that missing DMARC and SPF records are among the strongest early indicators of supplier risk. Here is why email infrastructure matters for invoice fraud prevention.
How to Verify a Supplier ABN on Your Phone — Gumshoe Mobile Guide
A step-by-step guide to running a full supplier verification on Gumshoe from any mobile device. Covers the verify flow, reading results on a small screen, and the fastest path from ABN to confident decision.
31,000+ Australian Companies Are Currently in External Administration. Does Your Supplier List Overlap?
ASIC insolvency data reveals the scale of companies currently in external administration across Australia. What it means for accounts payable teams and how to cross-check your supplier portfolio.
The 10 Things We Check Before Anyone Calls It Due Diligence
A framework for what comprehensive corporate intelligence looks like — and why most due diligence processes leave most of it out.
Your Accounts Payable Team's Biggest Risk Isn't Fraud — It's Complacency
In postcode 2000 alone, 7,559 ABNs were cancelled in the past 12 months. Suppliers you verified two years ago may no longer exist. The complacency problem in Australian accounts payable.
What the Insolvency Gazette Tells You That ASIC Doesn't (Yet)
ASIC's bulk data can lag gazette notices by weeks. A liquidator files Tuesday; it may not appear in ASIC's bulk extract until next month. Here's what the gazette catches first — and why it matters for payment decisions.
The 5-Year Survival Rate of Australian Businesses: What the Numbers Actually Say
We analysed the full 2019 ABN registration cohort — 900,000+ businesses — and tracked their survival to 2024. Only 31% of sole traders made it. Here is what the data reveals about supplier risk.
Release Notes — June 2026: Capital Intelligence, Reports Suite & Platform Improvements
June 2026 brings the full launch of Gumshoe Capital Intelligence, a new Intelligence Reports suite, front-page banner system, nav and layout standardisation, and a scheduled blog pipeline running through November 2026.
Introducing Gumshoe Capital Intelligence: Public-Record Research for Serious Investors
Gumshoe Capital Intelligence is a forensic public-record research suite built for Australian investors, due-diligence teams, and legal and accounting practices who need facts — not opinions — about the companies they are evaluating.
The Viper Pattern: Identifying Activist Short-Seller Campaigns Targeting ASX Companies
The ASX has been targeted by multiple high-profile activist short-seller campaigns over the past decade. Understanding how these campaigns work — and how to distinguish legitimate research from market manipulation — is essential for listed companies, institutional investors, and retail traders.
Intelligence vs Investment Advice: Why the Distinction Matters
Gumshoe Capital Intelligence is an intelligence company, not an investment adviser. Here is why that distinction matters legally, epistemically, and for you.
We Analysed 16 Million Australian Business Records. Here Is What We Found.
Most businesses check an ABN and call it done. We built a machine that cross-references 20 government registers simultaneously — and the data tells a different story about supplier risk in Australia.
Andrew Left Convicted: How Citron Research Ran the Viper Pattern for 20 Years
In 2024, Andrew Left — founder of Citron Research — became the first prominent short-seller convicted of securities fraud for a "tweet-and-trade" scheme. His conviction exposed the mechanics of the Viper Pattern: take a position, publish a report, profit from the price move, then quietly exit.
Make Your Next Audit Boring
The best compliment an audit can pay your supplier process is silence. That silence is bought in advance — at onboarding — not reconstructed under pressure at year-end.
Gumshoe is Live — Australian Supplier Verification, Properly Done
Today we launch Gumshoe — the first supplier verification platform built specifically for Australian businesses. Here is what we built, why we built it, and what happens next.
Your Gumshoe Dashboard — Everything You Can See and Do
Once you have verified a few suppliers, the dashboard becomes your command centre. Here is a plain-English walkthrough of every section, what the numbers mean, and what actions you can take.
Platform Update — Director Checks, Street View Fix & Intelligence Upgrades
Street View Pro now shows the photo it was always supposed to. Directors are now cross-checked against ASIC's banned list. Social media discovery is smarter about sole traders. Plus a full capability audit of every check we run.
Release Notes — June 2026
Street View fixed, smarter social media discovery, homepage cross-checks, and the support queue going live. Everything shipped in June 2026, in one place.
What Gumshoe Actually Checks: Inside the Data Behind the Verdict
A supplier check is only as good as the data behind it. Gumshoe draws on dozens of independent public sources — government registers, domain infrastructure, physical signals, and online presence — then cross-checks each against the others. Here is how that works, and why it matters.
How Gumshoe Remembers Your Supplier Details
Gumshoe saves the details you enter for each supplier — website, phone, address, email — so you never have to type them again when you revisit the same ABN.
How We Verify Bank Accounts Without Storing Bank Accounts
Payment fraud costs Australian businesses hundreds of millions every year. The solution is obvious — a searchable database of who owns which account. The problem is equally obvious: that database would itself be a fraud target. Here is how we solved it.
Active ABN Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling
An active ABN feels like a green light. It isn't. It's a turnstile — easy to pass, and not proof of much. Here's what actually separates a real supplier from a convincing front.
Uncovering Phoenix Activity: A CFO's Guide to Supplier Due Diligence
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) serve as the primary federal agencies tasked with detecting, investigating, and prosecuting phoenix
The Phoenix Pattern: How Fraudsters Walk Away From Their Debts — and How to Catch Them
Billions of dollars leave Australian creditors empty-handed each year when operators run up debts, deregister, and reappear under a fresh ABN. This is phoenix fraud — and it leaves forensic fingerprints that Gumshoe now reads automatically.
Toxic Combinations: What Banks Know That Businesses Don't
Banks spend millions building systems to ensure the person who can move money can't also approve it. Here's why the same logic — applied to the people running companies you do business with — is the due diligence most businesses have never thought to run.
The Three-Second Check That Prevents a Five-Figure Mistake
Most invoice fraud isn't a heist. It's a typo you were meant to trust. Three habits defuse most of it — and the third one is the whole game.
How a National Retailer Caught a Ghost Supplier Scheme
A major Australian specialty retailer discovered a network of fictitious suppliers after running Gumshoe verification on their accounts payable backlog. Here is what the checks found — and what human review alone had missed for three years.
The Hidden Cost of Supplier Fraud in Australia
Australian businesses lose an estimated $3.1 billion annually to payment fraud. Most of it starts with a supplier that was never properly verified. Here is what the numbers actually look like — and where the exposure sits.
Phoenix Activity in Australian Business: Risks and Due Diligence Strategies
Search by business name, ABN, or ACN. Instant PASS/WARN/FAIL across 8 verification signals.
Beyond the ABN: Why a Valid ABN Is Not Enough
A valid, active ABN is the minimum threshold for supplier legitimacy — not the maximum. Here is why accountants who stop at the ABN check are leaving serious risk on the table.
8 Red Flags Your Accounts Payable Team Is Missing Every Day
Most AP fraud succeeds not because it is clever, but because it exploits gaps in manual verification processes that nobody has had time to fix. These eight signals are the ones most commonly overlooked.
How Business Email Compromise Works — And How to Stop It
Business email compromise is the most financially damaging form of cybercrime targeting Australian businesses. Understanding exactly how it works is the first step to building effective defences.
The ASIC Deregistration Trap: When Your Supplier Does Not Exist Anymore
ASIC deregisters hundreds of companies every month. An ABN can remain active after a company is deregistered. Paying an invoice from a deregistered company creates legal exposure most businesses do not know about.
Domain Age in Supplier Verification: The 180-Day Rule
Domain age is one of the most powerful and least-used signals in supplier fraud detection. A domain registered in the last six months warrants immediate heightened scrutiny. Here is why — and how to check it.
DMARC, SPF, and Why Your Supplier's Email Domain Matters More Than You Think
Email authentication records are free to check, publicly available, and almost never examined in supplier verification. They are also among the clearest indicators of whether a supplier's domain can be impersonated.
A Risk-Based Supplier Onboarding Framework for Australian Accountants
Not every new supplier presents the same risk. A risk-tiered onboarding framework lets your team apply the right level of scrutiny to each relationship without creating unnecessary friction for legitimate vendors.
From 40 Minutes to 60 Seconds: The ROI of Automated Supplier Verification
The business case for automated supplier verification is not about technology — it is about time. Here is what the numbers look like when you calculate the true cost of manual verification at volume.
Building an Audit Trail: Why Timestamped Supplier Verification Reports Matter
When fraud happens despite your best efforts, what saves your business is evidence that reasonable due diligence was performed. A timestamped verification report is that evidence.
How an Accounting Firm Scaled Supplier Risk Reviews Across 80 Clients
A mid-sized Australian accounting practice was spending 40+ hours per month manually checking suppliers for their advisory clients. Gumshoe reduced that to under 4 hours — while improving the depth of every review.
The $340k Subcontractor Fraud a Small Builder Almost Missed
A family-owned construction business with 12 staff discovered a subcontractor had been invoicing for work that was never performed. A single Gumshoe report during onboarding would have flagged three critical warning signs on day one.
Inside a Property Manager's Maintenance Billing Fraud
A property management group discovered one of their own managers had been routing fake maintenance invoices through family-registered businesses for over two years. The scheme was sophisticated, hidden inside legitimate rent statements, and nearly impossible to detect without automated supplier verification.