Email scam costs Tyrol company more than 100,000 euros

A company in the Imst district lost more than 100,000 euros in an email scam, ORF reported on Thursday, citing police. An employee made five of six requested transfers before becoming suspicious.

The company’s accountant was first contacted by unknown perpetrators on September 30. In this type of “boss fraud”, scammers pose as a victim’s manager and ask them to transfer money. The employee was asked to make six payments to foreign accounts over four days.

She refused the final transfer, which was to an account in Turkey, and reported the fraud to police.

Police had warned on Tuesday of a telephone scam in the Kufstein area. Callers posed as police officers and claimed a family member had been involved in an accident, demanding money for supposed bail.