Spot the Scam Before You Pay: AI Payment-Fraud Checks
Screen payment emails with a free AI tool, then verify by phone. 8 lessons on fake invoices and wire fraud for bookkeepers and agents. First 2 free.
An email that asks you to pay a new bank account is the scam that costs people who move money the most. In the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, business email compromise accounted for $3,046,598,558 in reported losses, and the emails now arrive polished, with no typos to give them away. This course gives you a routine that works anyway: the AI reads, a person calls, two people approve.
You will learn it on a free AI assistant, with sample emails that contain nothing private. By Lesson 2 you will have a one-line hold rule and your first red-flag report on your own screen. By the capstone you will have written a one-page payment verification policy you can hand to your boss, your client or your team.
The course is honest about what the AI can and cannot do. It can notice a lookalike domain or a rushed deadline in seconds. It cannot confirm that a bank account is real, so every lesson ends at the same place: a phone call to a number you already had. If you want the background first, read our guide to checking an invoice email with a free AI.
What You'll Learn
- Write a one-line hold rule that stops any change to who gets paid until a person verifies it
- Use a reusable screening prompt to find red flags in a payment or vendor-change email
- Apply a keep-or-blur rule before pasting anything into ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude
- Execute a verification call on a trusted number and record it in a one-line log
- Analyze closing-day wire instructions and invoices for mismatched domains, math and dates
- Create a one-page payment verification policy for your office or client
After This Course, You Can
What You'll Build
Course Syllabus
Prerequisites
- A free account with ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude
- No technical background needed; the course supplies sample emails to practice on
Who Is This For?
- Bookkeepers and accounts-payable clerks who pay other people's invoices
- Office managers and small-business owners who handle their own vendor payments
- Real estate agents and transaction coordinators who support closings
- Anyone who has used ChatGPT a few times and wants a careful routine for payment emails
Frequently Asked Questions
Can ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude tell me whether an invoice email is fake?
They can point out warning signs in the text, such as a lookalike domain, a rushed deadline, a bank-detail change or invoice math that does not add up. They cannot confirm that a bank account is real or that a vendor's mailbox is safe. The course treats the AI as a first reader and teaches the phone call that actually protects the money.
Do I need a paid AI plan?
No. Every prompt in the course works in the free versions of ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. If one tool hits its daily limit, switch to another.
Is it safe to paste a payment email into a free AI tool?
Only after you strip it. Lesson 4 shows what to keep (domains and wording) and what to remove (account numbers, names, tax IDs), compares the data settings of the three tools, and explains why tax preparers and some financial firms should paste the stripped version only. It is general information, not legal advice.
Does the course cover real estate wire fraud?
Yes. Lesson 6 covers closing-day wire instructions for agents, transaction coordinators and anyone who supports a closing, including what to tell clients in your first email and how to compare new instructions with the signed contract.
Is this course free?
Lessons 1 and 2 are free with a free account; the rest of the course and the certificate come with Pro.
How long does it take?
About 2 hours in total. Each lesson takes 10 to 20 minutes, and Lesson 2 gives you a working result in the first 15 minutes.
