Payment Safety & Fraud Prevention

Fraudsters may compromise or imitate business email accounts and send convincing requests asking a buyer to redirect payment to a different bank account.

Treat any unexpected change of bank account, beneficiary name, payment route or payment instructions as potentially fraudulent until independently confirmed.

Exercise particular caution where you receive:

• an unexpected request to change bank details;
• a request to pay into a different country or account;
• an unusually urgent payment request;
• pressure to bypass your organisation's normal payment approval procedures;
• a request to communicate through an unfamiliar personal email, messaging account or telephone number;
• an unexpected invoice or altered invoice;
• a request to click a payment link;
• an email address that is similar to, but not exactly the same as, a known supplier address;
• unexpected attachments or unusual file-sharing links;
• requests for passwords, one-time passwords, card details or confidential banking credentials; or
• explanations that the normal contact person cannot speak by telephone or follow normal verification procedures.

Business Email Compromise, sometimes called BEC, occurs when criminals impersonate or compromise a genuine business contact and use that trust to redirect payments or obtain confidential information.

A fraudulent message may appear to come from a genuine factory, supplier, buyer, director, employee or adviser.

The absence of obvious spelling errors, malicious attachments or suspicious-looking links does not prove that a message is genuine.

Do not disclose passwords, one-time passwords, security codes, recovery codes or other authentication credentials in sourcing messages, emails or telephone calls.

Use strong unique passwords and protect the email account associated with your Bangladesh Apparel account.

The appropriate payment structure depends on the transaction, counterparties, countries, order value and banking arrangements.

For substantial international garment transactions, buyers and sellers should consider appropriate recognised banking and trade finance arrangements.

Bangladesh Apparel does not provide banking, credit or individual financial advice. Users should obtain professional banking or trade-finance advice where appropriate.

Before making a significant payment, buyers should consider independently checking:

• the company's legal and trading identity;
• business registration and trade licences;
• factory or operating address;
• named contact persons;
• commercial references where appropriate;
• samples and agreed product specifications;
• contract and purchase-order details;
• beneficiary bank account name;
• bank location and SWIFT information where relevant;
• invoice details;
• inspection and shipment arrangements; and
• whether payment instructions are consistent with previous verified communications.

A Bangladesh Apparel VERIFIED badge should not be treated as independent confirmation that a particular bank account, invoice or payment instruction is genuine.

Company verification and transaction-level payment verification are different processes.

Buyers must independently verify banking instructions before each material payment, particularly where any information has changed.

Screenshots of bank accounts, payment messages, certificates, identification documents, invoices or emails can be altered or fabricated.

Where a matter is commercially important, verify it through an independent source rather than relying solely on an image or forwarded document.

Bangladesh Apparel cannot control communications taking place through independent email accounts, messaging applications, telephone calls or other external systems.

Users should apply the same verification procedures regardless of whether payment instructions appear to come through email, telephone, WhatsApp or another communication method.

Do not click unexpected links or open suspicious attachments claiming to relate to an order, shipment, invoice, password reset, account verification or payment.

If a message claims to be from Bangladesh Apparel but appears unusual, navigate to BangladeshApparel.com independently rather than using a link in the suspicious communication.

Check the sender's full email address carefully. Similar domain names, altered characters and look-alike email addresses can be used for impersonation.

Official Bangladesh Apparel communications should use authorised Bangladesh Apparel channels.

If you are uncertain whether a communication is genuine, verify it independently using:

If you believe another person may have accessed your account:

• change your password promptly;
• change the password of the associated email account if that account may also be compromised;
• review recent account activity where available;
• do not approve unexpected payment requests;
• notify your organisation's IT or security personnel where applicable; and
• contact Bangladesh Apparel promptly.

Preserve relevant emails, invoices, messages, bank information, transaction references and other evidence.

Organisations should also follow their internal cyber-security and incident-response procedures.

Suspected Bangladesh Apparel impersonation, fraudulent listings, forged verification material, phishing or other marketplace abuse should be reported to:

Users in the United Kingdom may also report suspicious phishing communications and cyber incidents through the appropriate UK authorities and should report financial losses to their bank immediately.

Bangladesh Apparel accounts and sourcing features must not be used for unlawful spam, mass unsolicited messages, deceptive promotions, credential harvesting or fraudulent marketing.

Bangladesh Apparel may restrict or suspend accounts involved in serious spam, phishing, impersonation or abusive messaging.

Businesses receiving enquiries through Bangladesh Apparel should maintain secure email practices and protect their own banking and account information.

If a business changes legitimate bank details, it should provide buyers with a reliable means of independently verifying the change rather than relying solely on an email instruction.

Buyers remain responsible for their own payment authorisation, internal approvals, banking instructions and commercial due diligence.

Bangladesh Apparel cannot verify every communication exchanged privately between independent parties and cannot guarantee recovery of funds transferred as a result of fraud.

Bangladesh Apparel may assist with platform records or account investigation where reasonably appropriate, but cannot guarantee that a fraudulent payment will be recovered.

Banks, law-enforcement authorities and other relevant institutions may need to be involved in investigations or fund recovery.

This guidance should be read together with the Bangladesh Apparel Terms & Conditions, Privacy & Data Protection Policy, Disclaimer and Company Verification Policy.

Where a commercial transaction is involved, users should also rely on appropriate contracts and professional banking, insurance, inspection and legal advice according to the circumstances.