Email Scam Costs Nicosia Company €124,000

Police are investigating a new online fraud case in which a Nicosia-based company lost over €120,000. The perpetrators, through a fake email seemingly from a foreign partner company, persuaded the Cypriot company to deposit money into a new bank account.

According to the complaint, the company received an email in November informing them of a change in the partner company's bank details. Between December and January 26, the company deposited a total of €123,943 into the alleged new account in a European bank. The scam was revealed when the director of the Cypriot company contacted the partner company on January 26 and was informed that there had been no account change.

The Economic Crime Investigation Unit of the Nicosia TAE is investigating the case. Police recommend verifying payment requests by telephone communication with partners, using known telephone numbers. They also urge company owners and managers to inform their staff about such scams and to implement verification procedures.