Orion SA, a major chemical company based in Luxembourg, has reported a loss of $60 million due to a banking transfer fraud scheme. The incident was outlined in a statement submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While the term “Business Email Compromise” (BEC) was not explicitly mentioned, the nature of the fraud resembles such schemes.
The fraudulent activity took place on August 10th when an employee of Orion SA fell victim to a scam, resulting in unauthorized money transfers to unknown third parties. It is worth noting that the company’s systems were not breached, and no data was compromised in the process.
Orion SA has taken steps to notify law enforcement authorities and is actively pursuing the recovery of the stolen funds, including exploring options for insurance coverage. An investigation into the incident is ongoing, as the company evaluates the impact on its internal processes and security measures.
BEC attacks commonly involve impersonating trusted email addresses, such as those of suppliers with whom the victim’s accounting department regularly conducts significant financial transactions. Fraudsters invest time in researching their targets and their business partners to make their deception more convincing.