Cyberhackers believed to have originated in China scammed Bonnier Publications out of $1.5 million last month, Media Ink has learned.
The thieves hacked into the email of then-CEO Dave Freygang and then sent two bogus instructions to an employee in the accounts payable department to ship the money to a Chinese bank via electronic transfers, sources said.
The emails were marked urgent and confidential, sources said. The FBI is said to be investigating.
“I can confirm an employee at Bonnier fell victim to a cyberfraud in the range of $3 million,” brand new CEO Eric Zinczenko said in an interview Tuesday — his first day on the job.
The money was sent in two $1.5 million wire transfers four days apart.
The second transfer, on May 15, was able to be retrieved before it landed in the Chinese bank, Freygang said.
The company believes the money was able to be recovered because the employee called Freygang to confirm the transfer.
The thieves hacked into the email of then-CEO Dave Freygang and then sent two bogus instructions to an employee in the accounts payable department to ship the money to a Chinese bank via electronic transfers, sources said.
The emails were marked urgent and confidential, sources said. The FBI is said to be investigating.
“I can confirm an employee at Bonnier fell victim to a cyberfraud in the range of $3 million,” brand new CEO Eric Zinczenko said in an interview Tuesday — his first day on the job.
The money was sent in two $1.5 million wire transfers four days apart.
The second transfer, on May 15, was able to be retrieved before it landed in the Chinese bank, Freygang said.
The company believes the money was able to be recovered because the employee called Freygang to confirm the transfer.
[. . .]
“It’s a fairly sophisticated phishing expedition, but we have no idea who was behind it,” Freygang said.
He said the Chinese banking authorities have not been helpful in identifying who was the owner of the account that was receiving the stolen money.
“It is really frustrating because the Chinese banks are not cooperative,” he said.
The phishing expedition’s M.O. is apparently part of a new wave of cybercrimes in which hackers routinely troll websites and masquerade as a top executive, directing a subordinate to transfer a sum of money to a bank account with the instruction that it is urgent to make the transfer.
The email looks legitimate to the subordinate.
He said the Chinese banking authorities have not been helpful in identifying who was the owner of the account that was receiving the stolen money.
“It is really frustrating because the Chinese banks are not cooperative,” he said.
The phishing expedition’s M.O. is apparently part of a new wave of cybercrimes in which hackers routinely troll websites and masquerade as a top executive, directing a subordinate to transfer a sum of money to a bank account with the instruction that it is urgent to make the transfer.
The email looks legitimate to the subordinate.
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