Your BBB® has learned from an Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3) Press Release of a “sophisticated scam” they are calling E-Mail Account Compromise (EAC). According to the Press Release, the scam targets “the general public and professionals associated with, but not limited to, financial and lending institutions, real estate companies, and law firms.”

Using social engineering or computer intrusion techniques, unsuspecting victims’ e-mail accounts are compromised. The criminal creates a spoofed e-mail account that looks very much like the real account but with a slight alteration of one of the characters. Then, according to the Press Release, the criminal uses the victim’s real e-mail account or the spoofed one to make unauthorized wire transfers.

The funds are sometimes directed to money mules in the U.S. or to accounts in financial institutions outside the U.S. Money mules, according to ic3 are people who are used to transfer and launder stolen money and are typically given a portion of the money transferred as payment. To make the transaction seem legitimate, the criminal calls the institution to confirm the transaction.

The ic3 has found that EAC money mules may be victims themselves, of employment scams, romance scams, or personal loan scams. According to the Press Release, between April 1, 2015 and June 30, 2015, 21 complaints related to the EAC scam were filed with losses of almost $700,000. Approximately $14 million in attempted losses are associated with open FBI EAC investigations.

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