Compromised Business email fraud cost Victorians $ 31.9 million

Victorians lost over  $31.9 million dollars to Business Email Compromise (BEC) in 2021, 

 iTnews reports that  some VPN operators are helping Victoria Police unmask fraudsters, Detective Sergeant Tas Gagatsakis from the Cybercrime Squad said there were US- and Australia-based VPNs that handed over customers’ IP addresses when asked for them but would not name them. He did not comment on VPNs that operate in other jurisdictions. 

“There are VPN services that are operating in a jurisdiction like ours and services that operate in the US ... they are obliged to assist law enforcement when given the correct paperwork or search warrant, or whatever the case may be… The $31.9 million does not take into account when the funds were recovered but the majority of times, we don't get the money back… The BEC is a fraud technique that redirects businesses’ legitimate fund transfers to the individual offender or syndicate’s accounts.”

In January 2020, Operation Dolos was set up to address rising BEC attacks. 

The AFP-led task force includes state law enforcement, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, a division of the Australian Signals Directorate, and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre. 

- CyberBeat