What to verify before making an advance payment
The first question is not whether the business “looks legitimate”. It is whether the legal entity, the people negotiating, the proposed supply, the documents and the receiving account form one coherent and verifiable chain.
A preliminary review cannot remove risk. Its purpose is to identify contradictions, information gaps and conditions that justify further verification, renegotiation or withdrawal before exposure increases.
Legal identity
Corporate or tax number, registered address, officers and entity status in available sources.
Control of contact
Relationship between domain, email, telephone numbers, individuals and the identified entity.
Operational coherence
Apparent capacity to supply, track record, location, timing and commercial terms.
Route of funds
Account holder, account country, beneficiary, intermediaries and late changes.
Warning signals rarely matter in isolation
One anomaly may have a reasonable explanation. Risk increases when several signals point in the same direction: artificial urgency, implausible pricing, inconsistent documents, resistance to independent verification or payment to a third party.
Sequence matters too. A bank-account change after invoice approval, a new person entering immediately before payment or an unexplained beneficiary change should stop the process until independently resolved.
Pressure
A discount that depends on immediate payment or a threat that an exceptional opportunity will disappear.
Misalignment
Contract, invoice, domain, signature and bank account do not identify the same entity.
Opacity
Basic documentation is withheld or concrete questions are avoided.
Implausibility
Price, availability, capacity or timing conflicts with market conditions or visible history.
A four-decision verification process
The useful output is not a folder of screenshots. It is a documented decision: proceed on current terms, proceed with additional controls, renegotiate exposure and payment, or do not proceed.
Depth should reflect amount, country, recoverability and operational impact. A low-cost preliminary check must not be presented as full legal, financial or technical due diligence.
- 01
Define the exact counterparty, transaction, amount, country and decision date.
- 02
Verify identity and traceability across available corporate, commercial and digital sources.
- 03
Cross-check documents, communications, terms and payment route for inconsistencies.
- 04
Report findings, limitations, unresolved questions and exposure-reduction measures.
What a responsible check cannot promise
No review can certify future performance or identify every forgery or impersonation attempt. Sources may be incomplete, outdated or difficult to verify in some jurisdictions.
Contracts, sanctions, licences, solvency, tax or litigation require the relevant specialists. A professional conclusion may also be that there is not enough evidence to recommend payment.
How this analysis was prepared
Directed and reviewed by Juan Carlos Martín Gil using the firm’s diagnostic method. It provides general decision criteria and does not replace review of the specific transaction or legal, tax, financial or insolvency advice.