If your business has received a fax or email from Relay Wire asking you to pay for a fax related service, you may be wondering: Is Relay Wire legit, or is this a fake invoice scam?
Based on multiple reports and the information available, Relay Wire invoices matching the reported pattern appear to be fake invoice scams. The invoices claim that businesses owe money for services such as "Professional Fax Infrastructure", routine annual renewal or an annual fax service, even though the recipients say they never ordered or used those services.
One important point should be made clear from the beginning: Relay Wire should not be confused with Relay Financial or Relay Bank. Relay Financial is a legitimate business banking service. Its official security guidance says customers should use relayfi.com, bankwithrelay.com, or its official mobile app when accessing Relay services.
The Relay Wire scam appears to be a business to business fake invoice scheme. Instead of sending a typical phishing email asking for passwords or credit card information, the sender sends what looks like a normal business invoice. The document may contain a company name, fax number, invoice number, service dates, payment instructions and a specific amount.
The goal is simple: make the invoice look routine enough that someone in an accounting department pays it without checking whether the service was ever ordered.
For example, a business might receive an invoice claiming it owes $389 (ranging from $389.00 to $498.85) for one year of "Professional Fax Infrastructure Service." The problem is that the targeted businesses report having no account, contract or agreement with Relay Wire.
The process can look like this:
One reported case involved a $389 invoice for “Professional Fax Infrastructure Service” covering a one year period. The payment instructions requested a check to a Dallas, Texas, remittance address and asked that the business fax number be included on the check memo line. The report also listed relaywire.app and email addresses like billing@relaywire.app or swray@relaywire.app associated with the invoice.
Fake invoices are designed to blend into ordinary business paperwork. A busy accounting employee may see:
Nothing about those details automatically proves that the invoice is legitimate. In fact, using a company's actual fax number can make the document appear much more believable.
Example:
Imagine a medical office receives a fax stating:
"Annual Fax Service Renewal - $498.85"
The invoice includes the office's fax number and says the service will continue for another year.
An employee may think, "This must be our fax provider."
But after checking the office's existing telephone bill, the employee discovers that the fax service is already included with the company's actual telecommunications provider. That simple check could prevent an unnecessary payment.
There are several warning signs to watch for.
This is the biggest red flag. If your company has never contacted Relay Wire, signed an agreement with it or approved it as a vendor, an unexpected invoice deserves verification before any payment is made.
Words such as annual renewal can make an unfamiliar bill appear to be an existing obligation. If the invoice says something is being renewed, ask:
"When did we originally purchase it?"
If nobody can find the original order or contract, stop and investigate.
This can make the document look legitimate. However, knowing your fax number does not establish that the sender is your telecommunications provider. Always compare the invoice with your company's actual provider records.
Terms such as:
may sound official or technical. But complicated wording does not prove that a service exists or that your company ordered it.
Some reported invoices instruct businesses to mail checks to a Texas address and reference their fax number on the check memo line. Any unexpected payment instruction should be independently verified before money leaves the company.
Reports involving these invoices have identified relaywire.app as the website associated with the sender. That domain should not be confused with Relay Financial's official web addresses.
According to Relay Financial's own security guidance, its official web addresses are relayfi.com and bankwithrelay.com.
Do not assume they are connected simply because they both use the word "Relay." Relay Financial is a legitimate business banking platform with official security guidance for customers. Relay says users should access their accounts through relayfi.com, bankwithrelay.com, or its official mobile application. It also warns customers about impersonation and phishing attempts.
This distinction is important.
If you are a Relay Financial customer and receive a suspicious communication claiming to come from Relay, do not use contact information supplied in the suspicious message. Instead, verify the communication through Relay's official channels.
A scam report on BBB Scam Tracker about Relay Wire describes receiving a faxed Relay Wire invoice for $389 for “Professional Fax Infrastructure Service.” The business stated that it had not ordered the service. The report classified the incident as a Fake Invoice/Supplier Bill and identified a Dallas, Texas, location, relaywire.app, and an email address connected with the invoice.
Other reports show similar invoices involving fax services that the receiving businesses say they never purchased.
This pattern is also consistent with the broader fake invoice problem that the Federal Trade Commission warns businesses about. The FTC says scammers may send businesses invoices for products or services they never ordered and hope that someone simply pays the bill.
Do not pay immediately:
Do not send a check, wire payment or ACH payment simply because an invoice looks professional.
Check your existing provider:
Look at your actual telephone, fax or telecommunications bills. Find out who really provides your fax service.
Check your vendor records:
Ask your accounting or purchasing department:
If nobody can confirm the purchase, do not treat the invoice as a normal bill. Do not call only the number on the invoice. If you need to verify something, use contact information obtained independently from a trusted source. This is particularly important because scammers can put their own phone numbers, email addresses and websites on fake documents.
Warn your accounting team:
Keep a copy of the suspicious invoice and tell the employees responsible for payments not to process similar documents without verification.
Verify Communications:
If you ever receive a suspicious notice regarding Relay, check directly through Relay Financial Official Help Center rather than using contact details listed on the suspicious invoice.
Report it:
You can report suspected fake invoices to the appropriate consumer protection authorities. File a report with the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker or your local consumer protection agency.
Absolutely. Fake invoice scams do not necessarily target large corporations. Small businesses can be attractive targets because one employee may handle invoices, vendor communication and payments.
For example:
The common trick is the same: create the appearance of an existing business relationship.
If your company already sent money in response to a suspicious Relay Wire invoice, act quickly. Contact the bank or payment provider involved and explain that the payment may have been made in response to a fraudulent invoice.
Gather and preserve:
Do not delete the original documents. They may be useful when reporting the incident or disputing the transaction. If sensitive banking information was also shared, contact the relevant financial institution and follow its fraud-response procedures.
Businesses can reduce the risk by having a simple invoice verification process. Before paying an unfamiliar invoice:
Stop → Check → Verify → Pay
Based on the available reports and the characteristics of the invoices described, Relay Wire invoices matching this pattern should be treated as a fake invoice scam, particularly when the business never ordered the claimed fax service.
The combination of unsolicited invoices, annual-renewal language, fax-service claims, charges such as $389 and $498.85, payment instructions and the reported use of relaywire.app creates multiple warning signs.
Most importantly, do not confuse Relay Wire with legitimate Relay Financial or Relay Bank. Relay Financial's official guidance identifies relayfi.com and bankwithrelay.com as its official web addresses and provides specific advice for identifying impersonation attempts.
If a Relay Wire invoice arrives at your business, don't let a professional looking document make the decision for you. Check your vendor records, verify your actual fax provider and confirm that the service was genuinely ordered before paying anything. An invoice is not proof that you owe money.
The information in this article is provided for educational and awareness purposes. Company names, phone numbers, sender names, and other details referenced may have been impersonated, spoofed, or otherwise misused by scammers. Their appearance in this article does not necessarily identify the legitimate company, owner of a phone number or account as being involved in fraudulent activity.
This article has been written by a Scam Fighter Contributor, De-Reviews.com Team. If you believe the article above contains inaccuracies or needs to include relevant information, please contact ScamAdviser.com using this form.
De-Reviews.com Team is a group of scam researchers, editors, and online safety advocates dedicated to exposing online fraud and helping consumers stay safe online. The team has been investigating scams, fraudulent websites, phishing campaigns, and other online threats since 2014. Read the Full Author Profile.
