When the invoice looks convincing, verify the process.

What was reported

Microsoft describes a campaign using executive impersonation, invented invoices, and fabricated email threads to target finance teams. Researchers found signs consistent with AI-assisted template creation, while noting that those indicators do not establish exactly how much content AI generated.

The club take

Our reading: the stronger a message looks, the more valuable an independent verification process becomes. A polished design or familiar name is not evidence that a request is legitimate.

A useful meetup exercise would give a fictional team an unexpected invoice and ask how it should be verified. Use invented people and companies. Compare the team’s process before and after introducing urgency or a claimed executive approval. The goal is to make the right question easy to ask, especially under pressure.