Financial Crime World

Fraudulent Activities in Online Banking Exposed in Puerto Rico

Sophisticated Scam Targets Government Agencies

A sophisticated online scam has been uncovered in Puerto Rico, with authorities freezing at least $2.9 million in what appears to be a massive financial heist. The scheme involves hackers compromising the email account of an employee at the island’s Employee Retirement System and sending fraudulent emails to various government agencies.

How the Scam Worked

  • Hackers compromised the email account of an employee at the Employee Retirement System
  • Sent fraudulent emails to government agencies, causing them to make unauthorized payments
  • Two agencies fell victim to the scam: Puerto Rico’s Industrial Development Company and the island’s Tourism Company

Agencies Fall Victim to the Scam

  • Puerto Rico’s Industrial Development Company sent $63,000 in December and over $2.6 million in January to fraudulent accounts on the U.S. mainland
  • The island’s Tourism Company sent $1.5 million in January to fraudulent accounts on the U.S. mainland

Investigation Underway

  • The FBI is investigating how the computer at the Employee Retirement System was hacked
  • Local authorities have frozen the stolen funds
  • Government officials are working to recover the stolen funds and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future

Reactions from Lawmakers

  • “It’s a serious situation… The hacker managed to pose as our employee and sent emails to various government agencies, causing them to make unauthorized payments.” - José Ayala, director of the fraud unit within the bank robbery division
  • “It’s unacceptable that we’re seeing such a lack of transparency from the government. We need to know how this happened and what measures will be taken to prevent it in the future.” - Puerto Rico Rep. Ramón Luis Cruz

Larger Trend of Business Email Compromises

  • Over 23,700 reported incidents on the U.S. mainland last year resulted in losses of over $1.7 billion
  • The scam is believed to be part of a larger trend of business email compromises

Ongoing Investigation

  • Government officials have declined to comment further on the case, citing an ongoing investigation
  • Local authorities are working to recover the stolen funds and prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future