email scamming hits the big time

Namely grocery store chain SuperValu and for $10 Million. From the Idaho Statesman:

SuperValu loses about $10 million in e-mail scam
SuperValu, which bought most of the Albertsons supermarket chain last year, has fallen prey to an e-mail scam, losing about $10 million after wiring money to fraudulent bank accounts, according to federal court filings.

The scam is detailed in a pair of forfeiture cases filed under seal earlier this year in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.

The fraud began after the supermarket chain received two e-mails � one from someone purporting to be an American Greetings Corp. employee and another claiming to be with Frito-Lay, according to court documents. Both e-mails claimed the companies wanted payments sent to new bank account numbers.

The company sent more than $6.5 million to the phony American Greetings account and nearly $3.6 million to the phony Frito-Lay account before realizing it was all a scam. The FBI was able to capture the money before it was whisked away by the scammers.

But American Greetings and Frito-Lay still want to get paid. They and SuperValu have all laid claim to the money. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill will decide where it should go.

�SuperValu was the target of attempted financial fraud,� company spokeswoman Haley Meyer wrote in a prepared statement. �We were able to quickly discover and report this to the FBI. As a result of the quick work of the Boise FBI Office and the U.S. Attorney, any funds lost are minimal.�

Meyer declined to say whether the scam struck SuperValu�s Boise office, the former Albertsons headquarters.

Megan Ferington, a spokeswoman for American Greetings, said it couldn�t comment on the case because it�s under litigation. Officials with Frito-Lay and the FBI did not immediately return phone calls from The Associated Press.

American Greetings produces some gift wrap, greeting cards and other party goods sold in SuperValu stores, and Frito-Lay makes several foods sold by the Minnesota-based grocery chain.

DOH! How could these people have sent off the money without really verifying the source of the request. That being said, I would bet it's an inside job or the result of a keystroke logger on a compromised machine. Still, trust and verify is the best way to deal with any email. The telephone is your friend here...