Limassol company defrauded out of €12,200

A Limassol company was defrauded after scammers impersonating a previous business partner tricked a member of staff into sending over €12,000.

Police detailed that the company’s director reported the incident on Wednesday, who in turn explained that he had placed an order with an Italian company in November. They had worked together for years.

But in April the Cypriot company received an email requesting that this time the money instead be sent to a bank account in Poland, not in Italy as had previously been the case, as the accounts had changed.

The Cypriot company then sent over €12,216.

It soon transpired, however, that the email requesting the money be sent to Poland had been sent by unknown perpetrators impersonating the Italian company.

The director of the company realised they had been defrauded after the Italian company reached out to state that the money for the products had not been received.

The Limassol branch of the financial crimes unit is investigating, while the police urged the public to verify messages before making payments.

They added that this can be done by a follow-up phone call to the company through a previously established and confirmed line.

The force further emphasised that companies should inform their employees of the latest fraud incident and implement the necessary payment verification protocols.