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

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. 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.