Beware! Governance processes can prevent this – 3 real examples in my own network of companies being scammed for over $100K.

Over the past two years I have dealt with three companies in Melbourne and Brisbane with turnovers $10-$300m who are in the very embarrassing position of each having paid over $100,000 to scammers.

In a nutshell in each case the scammers have hacked into the email account of the CEO/Owner and after carefully studying the style and language used, have sent an email to the CFO instructing them to make a payment to an overseas account, in each case of over $100,000.  

Said CFO’s have done the right thing and clarified by email with the CEO/Owner. With the account hacked, scammer confirms the payment is to be made, and voila – money is transferred out of account. 

In each case the CFO has been a senior and experienced person and the company has not had in place a protocol for approval payments over a certain amount that includes either a) verbal confirmation of email instruction or b) hand signed payment authorisation or c) any other secure method.   The ease with which the scams were executed is breathtaking.

And clearly they have not put in the place the right cyber security processes.

In one of the cases, some of the funds were retrieved. In one case they were not, and the third most recent case is still in the process of being handled.