Police recover $16.4m lost by petrochemical company to business email compromise scam

A Singapore-based petrochemical company was able to recover US$12.8 million (S$16.4 million) lost in a business email compromise scam, thanks to the efforts of the police, OCBC, and the Cambodian National Police.

In a news release on Thursday (Oct 29), the police said that they received a report from the company on Oct 26, saying that it had been scammed into transferring the amount to a fraudulent bank account in Cambodia.

Preliminary investigations by the police's Cyber Command found that the company received an email sent by its "business counterpart" on Oct 1, containing revised payment instructions directing payment to a new bank account.

According to the police, the company identified discrepancies in the payment documents, but eventually went ahead with the transfer on Oct 13 after the scammers furnished an authorisation letter.

The letter bore its business counterpart's company signature and stamp that lent legitimacy to the revised payment instructions.

It was not till Oct 26 that the bluff was called, when the company's business counterpart said it has yet to receive the payment, which prompted the petrochemical company to call the police.

Following the report, the police coordinated with the Cambodian National Police and OCBC, and was able to trace and fully recover the funds.

The police said it remains steadfast in its commitment to strengthening international partnerships to safeguard the global financial system against cross-border fraud.

"Through robust collaboration and the strategic framework of FRONTIER+ , law enforcement agencies can effectively dismantle sophisticated scam networks and safeguard victims worldwide.

FRONTIER+ is a coalition of anti-scam centres from 16 different jurisdictions, which enables cross-border fund tracing and recovery, intelligence sharing, and coordinated enforcement through joint operations.

Businesses are advised to remain vigilant against business email compromise scams, which can result in significant financial losses.

一家总部位于新加坡的石化公司在警方、华侨银行和柬埔寨国家警察的共同努力下，追回了因商业电子邮件诈骗而损失的 1280 万美元（1640 万新元）。

警方在周四（10 月 29 日）发布的新闻稿中表示，他们于 10 月 26 日收到该公司的报案，称该公司被骗将款项转入柬埔寨的一个欺诈性银行账户。

警方网络指挥部的初步调查发现，该公司于 10 月 1 日收到其“业务伙伴”发送的一封电子邮件，其中包含修改后的付款指示，要求将款项支付到一个新的银行账户。

据警方称，该公司发现付款文件存在出入，但在诈骗者提供授权书后，最终还是在 10 月 13 日进行了转账。

信函上有其业务对应方的公司签名和印章，使修改后的付款指示具有合法性。

直到 10 月 26 日，这场虚张声势才被揭穿。当时，该公司的商业伙伴表示尚未收到款项，这促使这家石化公司报警。

接到报案后，警方与柬埔寨国家警察和华侨银行协调，最终追踪并全额追回了资金。

警方表示，将继续坚定不移地致力于加强国际合作，以维护全球金融体系免受跨境欺诈的侵害。

“通过强有力的合作和FRONTIER+战略框架，执法机构可以有效地瓦解复杂的诈骗网络，保护世界各地的受害者。”

FRONTIER+ 是由 16 个不同司法管辖区的反诈骗中心组成的联盟，它通过联合行动实现跨境资金追踪和追回、情报共享和协调执法。

建议企业对商业电子邮件诈骗保持警惕，此类诈骗可能导致重大经济损失。