Global cricket governing body ICC loses USD 2.5 million in phishing scam: Report

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is being linked with reports claiming that it recently fell prey to a massive online scam. As per a report by ESPNCricinfo, the cricket governing body lost about USD 2.5 million to an alleged phishing scam that is said to have originated in the USA. It is being said that the amount was wire transferred and the scam took place in 2022.

It is also understood that the fraudsters used Business E-mail Compromise (BEC) to commit the scam, which has been described by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as "one of the most financially damaging online crimes". Although ICC is yet to provide details about the scam, the report claims that the cricket body has reported the suspected fraud to law enforcement agencies in the USA.

Investigation for online scam is already underway

The ICC Board was reportedly updated about the scam last year and an investigation is already underway. Moreover, it is yet to be known how the scammers got hold of the money from the ICC account. It will be interesting to know if they directly got in touch with someone at the ICC head office in Dubai or targeted an ICC vendor or consultant. 

The report also said that it is yet to be clear whether the USD 2.5 million was transferred in a single payment or multiple wire transfers were done for the same. As per ESPNCricinfo, the FBI has stated in a Congressional Report submitted to the US government last November that BEC-related claims worth over USD 2.4 billion were received by the Internet Crime Control Center last year. Here’s what we know about BEC scams.

What is a BEC scam?

A BEC scam, also known as e-mail account compromise is a form of phishing where an organization or an individual is tricked into and convinced to make wire transfers. As per the Congressional Report submitted by the FBI, it functions by “poofing a legitimate, known e-mail address or using a nearly identical address to appear as someone known to or trusted by the victim." The report added, "BEC scams are initiated when a victim receives false wire instruction from a criminal attempting to redirect legitimate payments to a bank account controlled by fraudsters."