Residents have been cautioned not to fall for a new complex email scam that has already defrauded victims of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Hackers have targeted ordinary Australians by capturing invoices from legitimate businesses and altering their information before delivering them to customers.
Rebecca Hamilton, a producer of wool, nearly lost $24,000 after receiving a convincing-looking invoice purportedly from her animal feed supplier.
She stated, “Two bills with red lettering across the centre of them advising me of a change in bank account information arrived on my desk.”
Ms. Hamilton double-checked by calling her supplier, who informed her that their information had not changed.
The farmer stated that the phrase “alarm bells” immediately rang in her head, and she realized it was a complex hoax.
Christina Fay, a provider of animal feed, stated that hackers were able to intercept and alter her invoice, which had been sent to her through email.
Sarah Gee, the owner of Curium Legal, stated that hundreds of thousands of dollars had already been lost by businesses tricked by con artists.
She recounted a situation in which a con artist sent a bogus email from a finance employee to one of their peers.
She told ABC that many firms are not covered by insurance because they lack cyber insurance.
Even if they have cyber insurance, there are frequently gaps.
Ms. Gee provided excellent advice for individuals who have received suspicious-looking emails.
She suggested they call the company to confirm they had sent the email and ring the number shown on its website – not the number given in the email.
It is the latest complex scheme to defraud Australians, including one in which Sunrise broadcaster David Koch’s image was exploited.
Scammers are using photographs and ‘dubious’ remarks attributed to the Sunrise host to convince people to invest in a fraudulent bitcoin trading program.
Kochie reported on Monday that a fraud victim insulted him on Facebook after losing thousands of dollars to the fraudulent investment company.
The broadcaster asserted that scammers have utilized his image for years on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Taboola.