to convince employees, vendors or clients to divert a wire transfer to another bank account. The scam is known in federal law enforcement as the business email compromise (BEC). The FBI estimates that over $10 billion was lost to email schemes in 2022.6 WALENTINE O’TOOLE, LLP When time is of the essence, experience counts. Walentine O’Toole blends confidence, experience and knowledge with the personal attention you can expect from a regional law firm. www.walentineotoole.com 402.330.6300 11240 Davenport St. • Omaha, NE 68154-0125 The BEC scams take several different forms, but the most prevalent recently is the supplier or vendor scam. In such a scam, the email of a supplier or vendor is compromised using phished or stolen credentials or credentials found on the dark web. The compromised email account is then used to convince the company that there has been a new bank and new account established to receive transferred funds. The vendor scam is usually discovered only after the legitimate vendor complains that payment has not been received, which could be several months later depending on the terms of purchase, while the customer scam is usually not discovered until payment is not received from the company’s customers. BEC fraud leaves the two parties with a claim against each other — the payor has usually paid for services or goods rendered, but the payment went to the fraudster, while the payee has provided services or goods but has not received a payment. The question becomes, who is responsible for the loss? Court Rulings on Diverted Payments In Arrow Truck Sales Inc. v. Top Quality Truck & Equipment Inc.,7 Arrow paid money for the purchase of 12 trucks. The salesman for Top Quality and the buyer for Arrow negotiated a price of $570,000. Unbeknownst to Over the last five years, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has received an average of 652,000 complaints each year. The complaints cover a range of internet scams around the world. 20 Nebraska Banker
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