1 April 2021.
AgForce is urging farmers to be extra vigilant when transferring money for livestock, after one member lost $420,000 in an elaborate email scam.
The cattle farmer, from Mitchell in the Western Downs, recently fell foul of the business email compromise (BEC) scam when he purchased cattle at Auction Plus, and transferred money using account details on a TopX invoice that had been hacked by scammers.
BEC scams occur when a hacker gains access to a business’s email accounts, or ‘spoof’ a business’s email so their emails appear to come from the company.
The hacker then sends emails to customers claiming that the business’s banking details have changed and that future invoices should be paid to a new account.
These emails look legitimate as they come from one of a business’s official email accounts. Payments then start to flow into the hacker’s account.
Another AgForce member was also targeted after he too purchased cattle at Auction Plus and received an Elders invoice.
Fortunately he noticed the change of account details and called Elders for confirmation before he transferred the funds.
For more information on scams or to report a scam visit Scamwatch.