Jersey regulator warns of '£450k cyber fraud attempt'
The Jersey Financial Services Commission has issued a warning to local businesses and members of the public to be on their guard, following a series of targeted attempts to defraud Jersey companies and their clients by means of the Internet.
In a statement, the JFSC said it was “aware of at least three cases where locally-registered businesses have been the subject of an attempted ‘impersonation attack’, whereby fraudsters have registered a domain name that is almost identical to the organisation’s domain, and then sent bogus emails to the firm’s customers requesting large sums of money”.
One of the cases reported to the JFSC involved an attempt to extort more than £450,000 by attempting to impersonate a local company. The attempt failed, the JFSC said.
JFSC Director General John Harris said the commission was asking local companies and islanders “to be extra vigilant”.
“We are aware that this is not an isolated incident, and that cyber-criminals have purchased several domain names that are similar to
local companies’ domain names, with the intention of conducting
fraudulent activities,” Harris added.
“Verifying the authenticity of any unexpected emails requesting funds is key to avoid falling victim to this type of cyber-crime.”
The JFSC said it urged anyone who believed they may have been targeted by cyber-criminals operating in Jersey to contact the States of Jersey Police, or to email the Jersey Fraud Prevention Forum, at
[email protected]
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