Police have managed to recover $73,000 for a Tasmanian business which fell victim to an email compromise scam.
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The business, based in Southern Tasmania, reported the matter to police in November after invoice details in an email sent to a customer were intercepted and changed, which resulted in $73, 371 going to an incorrect account.
Detective Sergeant Paul Turner from Tasmania Police's Serious Financial Crime team said business email compromise (BEC) scams were an increasing and persistent threat worldwide.
"Across Australia, it seems like cyber criminals engaged in this sort of activity are particularly targeting the building and construction industry," Detective Sergeant Turner said.
"Luckily, this business was able to identify the illegal activity quickly, and we worked with their financial institution and our Australian Federal Police counterparts to freeze the payment and recover the funds.
"At this stage, we believe the funds were transferred to what we refer to as a "mule" account," he said.
Detective Sergeant Turner said the owners of mule accounts often were completely unaware of their involvement in the criminal activity and were also victims of a scam.
"This can involve them being instructed to receive the money and transfer the amount overseas under false pretences, such as helping a family member of someone they've met online," he said.
Detective Sergeant Turner said Tasmanian businesses could protect themselves from being victims of BEC by using protected invoicing software or other methods rather than email.
Detective Inspector Craig Joel, Officer in Charge of the Cyber and Child Exploitation Crime Division, said cybercrime is an increasing and evolving threat.
"Tasmania Police works closely with other jurisdictions and international policing agencies to investigate and combat the threat of cybercrime," Detective Inspector Joel said.
"We all need to be vigilant and report instances of cybercrime at cyber.gov.au."
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