Bank worker saves law firm from $73K loss by blocking unauthorized account transfers
An unidentified Michigan law firm got lucky after an overseas criminal tried to steal $73,000 from its account last week.
An employee of Traverse City State Bank noticed the suspicious activity taking place Feb. 5 and blocked the 17 wire transfers before they were completed, police told the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
The would-be thief logged onto the law firm’s online account to authorize the transfers, according to the Ticker and WWTV.
The articles don’t explain how the law firm’s account information apparently was hacked.
Frequently, there is little or no recourse for victims of such scams, once the money is actually sent.
“There was an attempted crime we’ll look into,” Capt. Jim Bussell of the Traverse City police told the Record-Eagle. “But if it’s international, there isn’t much we can do.”
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “As Hackers Steal Up to $1B Annually from Biz Bank Accounts, Victims May Have No Recourse”
ABAJournal.com: “Hackers are stealing closing funds by intercepting lawyer-client email, experts say”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyers and clients beware: Spoof phone calls may direct funds to scammers”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Law firm fell victim to phishing scam, precipitating $336K overseas wire transfer, bank suit alleges”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer who clicked on attachment loses $289K in hacker scam”
