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“CEO Fraud” on the Rise, Warns Centrify CEO


When Tom Kemp CEO, Centrify read reports about several scams victimizing CEOs, he told of how one such instance of 'CEO fraud' happened with him. Targeted attempts on him were made to defraud his organization off precious funds. Itwire.com published this, October 19, 2015.

It maybe noted that Centrify of California, USA provides identity management computer program along with cloud-oriented Identity-as-a-Service solution.

According to Kemp, he has observed more-and-more articles published online similar as on the 'Krebs-on-Security' website regarding an expanding scam known as "CEO Fraud," wherein cyber-crooks, by employing socially-engineered tactics, are getting chief executives to wire them money.

An instance that recently occurred involved Ubiquiti Networks a tech company which got cheated off $47m, while a company in Atlanta got scammed off $1.8m. The scam is also called BEC (business e-mail compromise) scam wherein, according to FBI, 7,000-and-more victims unknowingly gave away $750m during 2013-14, while the sort of defrauding has been increasing 270%-and-more starting Q1-2015.

Kemp says one CEO fraud attempt that occurred during February 2014 involved certain request for a wire transfer coming to Centrify's Vice-President of Finance that seemingly Chief Financial Officer of the Company sent. The message directed to process a $357,493.41 wire-transfer in favor of an account whose information was attached and a PDF document that supposedly had more instructions was also in the e-mail. It then directed that the transfer be listed as administration expense, while the confirmation sent over when done.

Finally, offering thanks the e-mail signed off from Timothy Steinkopf: "Tim" CFO Centrify.

After this, the e-mail showed a note seemingly forwarded that might've looked as actually Kemp's request. It stated that based on the conversation between Kemp and the e-mail receiver, the wiring instructions were attached and that the CEO would dispatch the documentation afterwards once the wiring process was over.

On receiving the fake e-mail, Centrify's Vice-President (Finance) brought in other employees into the loop. When the e-mail landed in the real mailbox of Steinkopf and Kemp, everybody became suspicious and it was instantly deduced that a domain named 'centrilfy.com' that nearly resembled 'centrify.com' was doing the trick. Thus Centrify asked FBI to intervene.

» SPAMfighter News - 10/27/2015

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