Texas company reports a $60 million loss due to a bank wire transfer fraud

Orion, a carbon black corporation based in Texas, alerted its investors about a significant financial loss of $60 million due to a criminal scam involving “multiple fraudulently induced outbound wire transfers to accounts owned by unidentified third parties.”

Details were sparse, but such schemes typically see scammers deceitfully coaxing employees, particularly those in financial roles or with access to top executives, into wiring company funds to accounts held by the scammers. These deceptions may involve hijacking the email accounts of company executives to relay bogus instructions to employees, or employing deepfake technology as a means to bamboozle workers into executing fund transfers.

According to the FBI, these fraudulent activities have escalated into a multibillion-dollar issue, impacting businesses of all sizes in recent times. Fortunately, straightforward and efficient measures exist to guard against such email-associated frauds.