Pune Firm lost ₹ 22 Lakh in the latest email scam 2023

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Recently, a firm in Pune got victimized by a scam and lost 24 K Euros ( ₹ 22 Lakh ) via a fabricated Email ID.

Emails are one of our daily life’s useful communication tech and IDs. Thus, to make sure the encryption & security of our conversations, it’s essential to validate our Email ID. otherwise, you will fall for cyber fraud incidents/ traps and will definitely become a victim of cyber attacks.

The exact situation happened to a Pune Firm (Engineering Supplies Firm) that lost 24 K Euros after being victimized by a cyber scam involving a fabricated Email ID name, which was meant to be for business communication.

The Indian Express, Report

The firm (Pune) made an order for 51 K + Euros at a company (France) around January and February 2023.

The order was pitched to the email ID of a sales manager of the firm (France) with whom the company (Pune) has been in contact for years.

After that, the firm (Pune) got a pro-forma invoice from the company (France) to confirm the order.

Then, a few minutes later, the firm (Pune) got an email stating that they would not be able to access the usual Bank A/c & SWIFT Code from the Paris-based bank.

Rather they were asked to pay to a new account operated by a bank headquartered in Lisbon. Believing in the conversation, the firm (Pune) got ready to pay an advance of 24,589 Euros to the new Portuguese-based A/c.

However, a few weeks later, when the firm (Pune) approached the firm (France) to ask about the equipment shipment, French officials told them that they hadn’t received any payment till then. This situation alerted the company (Pune) and lightened the previous chats.

After that, it was confirmed that the email alert about the changes in the bank a/c was generated from a fabricated Email ID. That Email ID was different from the original email address of the France firm with the difference of a single letter (‘a, rather than ‘e.’)

Understanding the situation, the company filed a complaint against the fraudsters at the Pune Police.

Investigators, Pune City Police

Even though the investigation is still on, the adversaries used a technique of “man-in-the-middle” to target the victim (Pune Firm.)

The fraudster got into the email A/cs of businesses related to transactions & steal data about their running deals and orders.

After that, they created a false email ID imitating the original IDs in this incident related to the France Firm.

Then, via that email, adversaries got in touch with the Pune Firm & lured them into the trap of driving them to the Fake ID pretending that the legitimate A/c was not working. They asked for the amount transferred to a different bank account related to the fraudsters.

Due to the old version of Email Software, man-in-the-middle attacks frequently happens. That’s because the latest updates come with the latest security patches.

Advise

Cops told the users to be aware of the scams. One must update their system & Email ID frequently. Following are some tips for protecting yourself against such scams.

Frequently observe the mailing systems,
Add cyber signs in email messages,
Be aware of the latest scams and cyber threats,
Ensure new banking details via direct/ phone conversations with authorized personnel while monitoring transactions,
Validate the authenticity of domain names when communicating with the ID,
If you get victimized anyhow, immediately contact the cybercrime experts within 48 hours.

About Us

Suraj Koli is a content specialist with expertise in Cybersecurity and B2B Domains. He has provided his skills for News4Hackers Blog and Craw Security. Moreover, he has written content for various sectors Business, Law, Food & Beverage, Entertainment, and many others. Koli established his center of the field in a very amazing scenario. Simply said, he started his career selling products, where he enhanced his skills in understanding the product and the point of view of clients from the customer’s perspective, which simplified his journey in the long run. It makes him an interesting personality among other writers. Currently, he is a regular writer at Craw Security.