Hackers continue to target Cayman bank accounts

Financial Crime officers are warning people not to send their bank details over email after hackers again tried to raid Cayman bank accounts. 

Banks have identified several “fictitious instructions” to wire money overseas in the past few months, police said. 

The Caymanian Compass reported in October that hackers had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Cayman accounts as part of a sophisticated international scam.  

At least 10 Caymanian Islands residents had their email accounts hacked and their bank details stolen by criminals who then transferred funds to foreign bank accounts. 

Police said Tuesday that hackers have continued to successfully infiltrate email accounts to pilfer bank details and attempt fraudulent transfers. But increased vigilance from the banks themselves means there have been no new cases where money has actually been transferred. 

A spokeswoman for the Financial Crime unit warned that the global scam is still a threat and advised people not to send wire instructions by email. 

“A telephone call to your bank could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in the long run,” she said. 

In the largest single case in Cayman in 2013, more than $300,000 was stolen from one victim’s account. Several different Cayman Islands banks were hit by the scam. The only connection among the victims was that they used the same international email provider, which investigators declined to name.  

In every case in the Cayman Islands, the victim had previously sent legitimate wire instructions to their bank via email, along with a copy of their signature, requesting a cash transfer to a foreign bank.  

The emails were uncovered by hackers, who used the data to make a second wire transfer, moving the cash around a network of accounts and into the pockets of a fraudster, often before the crime was even detected.  

Police said in a statement, “Fraudsters continue to hack into email accounts in order to obtain personal account details. Instances of banks in the Cayman Islands receiving fictitious instructions to wire monies to accounts worldwide continue to happen.” 

The statement also warned that computers could be compromised by malware and issued advice on how to avoid being hit by hackers. 

“The RCIPS is urging the public to be cautious before clicking on any links in an email. Always scroll your mouse over the link so that the Universal Resource Locator (“URL”) address is displayed. If the URL address does not appear to correspond with the contents of the email, do not click on the link.  

“If you believe that your computer may have been compromised by clicking on a malicious link and you have anti-virus software installed, please update the antivirus and run a full scan of your computer hard drive.”  

Financial Crime officers can be contacted on 949-8797.