Online BEC fraud in Larnaca – company loses €38,650
Unknown perpetrators breached a company's email in Larnaca and obtained €38,650 through a fake invoice. The case is being investigated by the Economic Crime Office.
Company email breach – €38,650 defrauded in Larnaca
A company in Larnaca lost €38,650 following an attack involving unauthorised access to a corporate email account, according to Politis. The case was reported today to the Larnaca District Police Department (DAE) by the company's manager.
The perpetrators unlawfully accessed the company's email and sent a message that appeared to come from a partner company. The message requested payment of €38,650 as settlement of a previous commercial transaction between the two companies.
The complainant company followed the instructions in the message and transferred the amount by bank transfer to the account specified in it. Upon subsequent communication with the partner company, it was established that the message had been sent by perpetrators and that the bank account did not belong to the legitimate partner company.
The Economic Crime Investigation Office of Larnaca DAE is conducting the investigation.
In light of the case, the Police recommend that citizens and businesses telephone-verify any payment request they receive via email before proceeding with any transfer of funds. For this communication, a telephone number that has been used in previous transactions between the two parties should be used – not a number cited in the suspicious message itself.
Company owners and managers are also urged to inform their staff about this particular form of fraud, known as invoice fraud, and to establish internal procedures for verifying payment requests. Further information and prevention advice are published on the official website of the Cyprus Police.
Source: Politis