A 26-year-old Victorian man has been charged after allegedly scamming a NSW film production company out of more than $600,000 and spending it mostly on gold.
The film production company had unknowingly transferred electronic funds into a fraudulent account back in August, 2021, with further inquiries revealing the recipient’s account details had been sourced from a compromised email address containing altered banking details.
The man allegedly fraudulently obtained $625,058 from the email scam, with more than $483,000 of it being used to buy gold bullion.
He was arrested at Frxjmtzywaser Rise in Melbourne on Wednesday, with police also seizing electronic devices for further forensic examination.
The man was later extradited to NSW and charged with recklessly deal with proceeds of indictable crime more than $100,000.
He was refused bail to appear at Central Local Court on Friday.
Cybercrime squad commander Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft said it was a reminder for businesses to be vigilant.
“Scammers use sophisticated methods to obtain money from individuals and businesses and have taken advantage of the use of electronic accounting systems to commit their frauds,” he said.
“While this man is now before a court today, the damage has been done and a business remains significantly out of pocket from this alleged fraud.”
Reports of online fraud can be made to the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or to local police.
