Close to $500K Lost by Troy, Michigan Investment Company to Hackers
Troy, Michigan-based Pomeroy Investment Corporation was a victim of an email phishing scam worth $495,000.
The investment company reported to the police that one of their employees got an email from a fellow employee of the company to transfer the almost half-million amount to a Hong Kong bank back in mid-April of this year. It wasn’t after more than a week later that the investment company deemed the message a bogus one made to steal the money.
Local police sergeant Meghan Lehman said, “Previously, it was typical for company employees to communicate by email and to make transfer of funds, even overseas. But in this case, someone hacked the account of the sender requesting the funds. And then was days later before anyone questioned the transaction and learned they had been hacked.”
One of the employees got an email from a fellow employee to transfer close to $500K to a Hong Kong bank.
Lehman added that the investment company reported the incident to its insurance provider; while also changing company policies – specially doing business through email.
She also said that this practice is something promoted by authorities to the public who face making decisions involving smaller amounts of funds.
Lehman finished by saying, “We warn residents all the time not to trust emails from strangers asking for any sums of money. Here, it was believed to be a trusted email from a trusted source.”
“Considering the size of the transaction, a phone call might have been in order to verify the request. I would advise anyone, even if they believe they know the sender, to check by phone before ever making a financial transaction.”
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