Men charged after woman loses more than $1 million in elaborate scam
South Australian police have arrested two men over an elaborate and devastating scam that cost a woman more than $1 million.
The victim was trying to buy a house, but the scam was so sophisticated that the woman lost $1.2 million in just seconds in what's called a business email compromise.
Hackers intercepted an email from a conveyancer to the victim, from Tasmania, and added their own account for payment.
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The victim was trying to buy a house, but the scam was so sophisticated that the woman lost $1.3 million in just seconds in what's called a business email compromise. Nine
As a result, when the victim transferred the huge sum of money last October, it went straight into the hands of the scammers.
Police say the cash has since moved around: $170,000 was converted into cryptocurrency, and $70,000 was sent offshore to Ghana.
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Another $66,000 was used to buy shares.
Police are continuing to follow the money trail, and have arrested two men.
A 22-year-old from Pooraka in Adelaide's north has been charged with dishonestly dealing with property and money laundering.
South Australian police have arrested two men over an elaborate and devastating scam that cost a woman more than a million dollars. Nine
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A 30-year-old from Canberra has been charged with theft, money laundering and operating a financial business without a licence, and will appear in court on December 7.
Police are warning people to be vigilant.
They say if an email is received advising of a change in payment details, always ring the sender to confirm and don't click any links.
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