The fraudulent activity originated on October 1 when the business received an email containing altered bank account details for an upcoming payment. Despite noticing initial discrepancies, the company completed the US$12.8 million transfer on October 13 after fraudsters submitted a counterfeit authorization letter with a fake signature and stamp. The firm realized it had been defrauded only when the real vendor reported that the funds had never arrived. Through a collaborative effort involving OCBC, the Singapore Police Force's Cyber Command, and Cambodian police, the entire sum was traced and secured from a fraudulent account in Cambodia.
Key points
The Singapore Police Force's Cyber Command partnered with OCBC and Cambodian police to re…: The Singapore Police Force's Cyber Command partnered with OCBC and Cambodian police to recover the entire stolen amount.
Organizations should implement email security software and train personnel to spot sophis…: Organizations should implement email security software and train personnel to spot sophisticated business email compromise tactics.
Companies must independently verify any requested changes to counterpart payment instruct…: Companies must independently verify any requested changes to counterpart payment instructions before executing high-value wire transfers.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
The Singapore Police Force worked with its Cambodian counterpart and OCBC to recover the money from a fraudulent bank account in Cambodia.
SINGAPORE: A Singapore-based petrochemical company has recovered the full US$12.8 million (S$16.4 million) it lost after scammers tricked it into transferring the money to a fraudulent bank account in Cambodia.
The funds were recovered through efforts involving the Singapore Police Force's (SPF) Cyber Command, OCBC and the Cambodian National Police, SPF said on Thursday (Oct 29).
Preliminary investigations revealed that the company received an email from its business counterpart on Oct 1 containing revised payment instructions directing payment to a new bank account.
The company identified a discrepancy in the payment documents but the scammers subsequently provided an authorisation letter bearing the business counterpart’s company signature and stamp to make the revised instructions appear legitimate.
The company transferred US$12.8 million to the new bank account on Oct 13. The authorisation letter was later determined to be fraudulent, police said.
The scam was discovered on Monday, when the business counterpart said that it had yet to receive the payment.…
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