Nicosia: electronic fraud exceeding €23,000 against business
Fraudsters impersonated a supplier via a fake email and obtained over €23,000 from a Cypriot company, according to an investigation by the Nicosia Police.
Nicosia: electronic fraud exceeding €23,000 against business
A Cypriot company lost more than twenty-three thousand euros following deception via a fraudulent electronic message. The incident was reported to the Nicosia authorities, who are now conducting an investigation to identify those responsible.
According to a statement from a company employee, in early May the company received an email that appeared to come from one of its suppliers. The message contained a modified invoice and requested immediate payment of the amount.
The company's managers, believing the request was genuine, proceeded with a bank transfer of the sum to an account specified in the message. The fraud was discovered several weeks later, when the company contacted the actual supplier regarding another outstanding invoice. It was then established that the May email had not been sent by the official partner, but by malicious third parties.
The Economic Police Unit of the Nicosia Police undertook the investigation. The authorities emphasise the importance of caution when processing electronic payment requests. They advise business owners and employees to always verify payment details via telephone communication, using known numbers from previous transactions and not those that may be included in suspicious messages.
Additionally, companies are urged to inform their staff of such forms of fraud and to establish internal control procedures before disbursing any amount.
Source: Cyprus Police News
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)