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Speaker 1: But we know that the Northern Territory Police they are

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Speaker 1: currently investigating numerous business email compromise scams which have occurred

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Speaker 1: over the past month now. These scams appear to be

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Speaker 1: targeting the building in real estate industries. And joining me

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Speaker 1: in the studio to tell us more about the situation

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Speaker 1: is Detective Senior Sergeant David Bugainy. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie. How are you?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, really well, thank you so much for your time

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Speaker 1: this morning. Firstly, can you tell us a little bit

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Speaker 1: about these scams. That's some Territory businesses sound as though

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Speaker 1: they've been subjected to.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So what we have seen is we've seen a

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Speaker 2: rise in business email compromises over the last few months

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Speaker 2: and appears they are targeting the real estate and the

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Speaker 2: construction sectors. Obviously the last two substantial amount of money.

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Speaker 2: So we're looking at five hundred over five hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty and five hundred and thirty thousand. We've also seen

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Speaker 2: the smaller amounts around the twenty thousand dollars fairly consistent

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Speaker 2: over the last few months. Right in regards to business

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Speaker 2: email compromises.

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Speaker 1: How many businesses do you reckon have been targeted in

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Speaker 1: the territory over the last month.

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Speaker 2: Over the last month though, just probably at least five. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I can say, and I know.

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Speaker 1: That, you know, some of those figures are astronomical, like

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Speaker 1: five hundred and thirty grand and five hundred and fifty grand.

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Speaker 1: But if you're a business owner and an operator, at

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Speaker 1: twenty thousand dollars, is a huge loss to you, isn't it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's correct. Still at twenty thousand dollars, it is

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Speaker 2: a substantial amount of money for business to lose, yep.

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Speaker 2: And it's really about business being vigilant. If they're transferring

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Speaker 2: substantial amount of money, it's really a matter of picking

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Speaker 2: the phone up, contacting the recipient of the money and

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Speaker 2: confirming the bank account details.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And you know, the big thing is that everybody

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Speaker 1: always thinks, oh, that won't happen to me. There's no

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Speaker 1: way that I'm going to get scammed. But they're getting

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Speaker 1: more sophisticated and smarter in the way that they do things,

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Speaker 1: aren't they.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure. Obviously they're constantly changing their techniques and

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Speaker 2: their methodology and trying just to keep on top of that,

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Speaker 2: trying to stay ahead of it.

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Speaker 1: So what kind of things are they doing, Are they

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Speaker 1: sort of intercepting emails or are they changing in voices.

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Speaker 1: I know that there's probably various different ways that they're

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Speaker 1: doing things, but what kind of stuff are they doing?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, there's a number of aspects and a number

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Speaker 2: of ways they're doing these email compromises. But what I

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Speaker 2: can suggest is really, if you receive an email with

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Speaker 2: bank account details and it is for a substantial amount

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Speaker 2: of money, is to contact the recipient of that money.

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Speaker 1: And I know it, Yeah, I know, even for myself.

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Speaker 1: You know, at different times you think, oh, there's no

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Speaker 1: way I'd ever be caught out doing something, you know,

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Speaker 1: like BIA scam. There's no way knowing that I'd be

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Speaker 1: caught out and you know, and pay a substantial amount.

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Speaker 1: But then you know, I've got a phone call from

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Speaker 1: my mum one day saying, oh, so and so sent

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Speaker 1: me an invoice for this, Do I need to make

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Speaker 1: sure that I pay it? And you go, hang on

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Speaker 1: a second, that's not something that you know that we owe. Well,

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Speaker 1: that's not something that you need to be concerned about.

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Speaker 1: So it does actually happen more often than people realize,

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Speaker 1: I think, And it's not something to sort of feel

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Speaker 1: silly about because it is something that these people make

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Speaker 1: a business out of, don't they.

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Speaker 2: Yes, for sure, And regardless of the value, if you

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Speaker 2: become a victim of cybercrime in any way, then highly

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Speaker 2: recommend you report it on cyber dot com dot au.

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Speaker 2: You can also go and be smart, be cyber smart

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Speaker 2: sorry dot com dot au and they will have information

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Speaker 2: on there how to protect yourself as well.

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Speaker 1: Yep. So the big piece of advice, by the sounds

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Speaker 1: of it for Territorians, whether you're a business operator or

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Speaker 1: an individual, if an invoice comes through or if there's

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Speaker 1: money that's due to be paid, that's a substantial amount.

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Speaker 1: I mean even for some people, even some of our

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Speaker 1: seniors that are listening, it could be a couple of

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Speaker 1: hundred dollars, but to lose that is a big thing

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Speaker 1: for them. Make sure, like really, just make sure that

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Speaker 1: you're paying it into the correct account and you can

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Speaker 1: check that through a simple phone call, can't you.

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Speaker 2: Yes. And also if you're going to call them and

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Speaker 2: confirm the bankcount details, recommend you call them from a

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Speaker 2: number you know, not from a number on the email,

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Speaker 2: because you may be calling the scammer.

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Speaker 1: That is very very good advice and something that I

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Speaker 1: think that everybody should take note of. Is there anything

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Speaker 1: else we should be aware of this morning? Like I said,

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Speaker 1: I know that it's unfortunate, but we do see quite

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Speaker 1: a few Territorians getting scammed out of their herd earned cash. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: What we have also seen is an increase in intimate

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Speaker 2: images and extortion matters, where they befriend people on various

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Speaker 2: different social media platforms and request some intimate images and

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Speaker 2: then once they get their images, obviously they're requesting, they're

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Speaker 2: making demands for money.

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Speaker 1: Goodness, may I mean that's a worry as well, isn't it?

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Speaker 1: And sometimes praying upon people who may be a little

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Speaker 1: bit lonely.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and generally it's the younger generation, as young as

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Speaker 2: sixteen to twenty five and that sort of area. That's

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Speaker 2: what they're targeting.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Wow, have we seen much of that in the territory.

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Speaker 2: We have seen quite a few of late in the

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Speaker 2: last few months.

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Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, all right, so that is other something else

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Speaker 1: to be aware of. What's your advice on that one?

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Speaker 2: Obviously, if you don't actually know the person and you've

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Speaker 2: never met them, I wouldn't be sending any images to them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is very sensible advice. I think and yeah,

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Speaker 1: just another reason for us all to make sure that

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Speaker 1: we're being extra cautious online. It's hard, isn't it, because

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Speaker 1: our way of life, like we do everything online these days,

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Speaker 1: but you've got to be so extra careful with what

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Speaker 1: you're doing, particularly, you know, when it comes to sending

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Speaker 1: images or sending money.

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Speaker 2: Yes, that's correct.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, Detective Acting Senior Sergeant David Bugainy, thank you

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Speaker 1: very much for your time this morning. Much appreciated. Thank you,