"US Authorities Attempting to Recover $5.3 Million Stolen in BEC Scam"

The US Justice Department recently announced that it has filed a civil forfeiture action in an attempt to recover more than $5.3 million lost by a Massachusetts workers union in a business email compromise (BEC) scam. The union was not named but is located in Dorchester and lost the money in January 2023, when cybercriminals sent it an email that appeared to come from a trusted investment consulting firm. The scammers used a spoofed email address to trick the workers union into believing that the investment consulting firm was requesting the transfer of $6.4 million to a different bank account than the one they previously specified.  The employees complied with the fraudsters’ request and wired the money to their account.  The fraudsters then transferred the funds through a series of intermediary bank accounts.  According to the Department of Justice (DoJ), while some of the money was sent to cryptocurrency exchanges and bank accounts in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Nigeria, roughly $5.3 million was traced to bank accounts at JPMorgan Chase and Texas Bank and Trust. It was noted that these accounts, six at JPMorgan Chase and one at Texas Bank and Trust, have been seized by authorities, who are now seeking the forfeiture of the illegally obtained funds. Cybercrime losses reached a record $12.5 billion in 2023, $2.9 billion of which was attributed to BEC schemes. 

SecurityWeek reports: "US Authorities Attempting to Recover $5.3 Million Stolen in BEC Scam"