Friend
Professional
- Messages
- 2,653
- Reaction score
- 850
- Points
- 113
Four days that rocked Singapore's business.
Interpol says it has seized more than $41 million stolen from a Singapore-based commodities company as a result of corporate mail fraud.
On July 23, 2024, a Singapore trading company reported to the police that it was a victim of BEC (Business Email Compromise) fraud. Fraudsters gained access to the company's email address or forged it to trick employees into transferring money to their accounts.
On July 15, the firm received an email from a "supplier" asking it to send the payment to a new bank account located in East Timor. However, the email came from a fraudulent account whose address was slightly changed from the official address of the supplier. Unaware of the fraud, the company transferred $42.3 million to a fake account on July 19. Only 4 days later, on July 23, when the real supplier reported that he had not received payment, it became clear that a theft had occurred.
On July 24, Singapore police immediately contacted East Timor authorities, who tracked down and froze $39 million in the fraudster's bank account, and between July 24 and 26, arrested 7 suspects and seized another $2 million allegedly related to the theft. Steps are now being taken to return the stolen funds to the victim in Singapore.
According to Interpol, global cooperation between states was made possible by the I-GRIP mechanism, an Interpol system created in 2022 and covering 196 countries. It is designed to speed up international inquiries in cases of financial fraud. Interpol claims that by the end of 2023, more than half a billion dollars have been recovered thanks to I-GRIP.
Source
Interpol says it has seized more than $41 million stolen from a Singapore-based commodities company as a result of corporate mail fraud.
On July 23, 2024, a Singapore trading company reported to the police that it was a victim of BEC (Business Email Compromise) fraud. Fraudsters gained access to the company's email address or forged it to trick employees into transferring money to their accounts.
On July 15, the firm received an email from a "supplier" asking it to send the payment to a new bank account located in East Timor. However, the email came from a fraudulent account whose address was slightly changed from the official address of the supplier. Unaware of the fraud, the company transferred $42.3 million to a fake account on July 19. Only 4 days later, on July 23, when the real supplier reported that he had not received payment, it became clear that a theft had occurred.
On July 24, Singapore police immediately contacted East Timor authorities, who tracked down and froze $39 million in the fraudster's bank account, and between July 24 and 26, arrested 7 suspects and seized another $2 million allegedly related to the theft. Steps are now being taken to return the stolen funds to the victim in Singapore.
According to Interpol, global cooperation between states was made possible by the I-GRIP mechanism, an Interpol system created in 2022 and covering 196 countries. It is designed to speed up international inquiries in cases of financial fraud. Interpol claims that by the end of 2023, more than half a billion dollars have been recovered thanks to I-GRIP.
Source
