Singapore-based petrochemical firm recovers US$12.8 million lost in business email scam

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. The company then made a police report.

After receiving the report, cyber command officers engaged with the Cambodian police and coordinated recovery efforts with OCBC. The full amount was eventually traced and recovered.

The police advised businesses to remain vigilant against business email scams and to adopt measures such as verifying changes in payment instructions, educating employees and utilising email protection software.