Greek Police Recover €4 Million Stolen From Shipping Company In Business Email Compromise Scam

Greek police have recovered €4 million stolen from a Greek shipping company after cybercriminals used a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam to divert the money to a bank account in Bulgaria.

The fraud was reported in August 2025, when a representative of the shipping company filed a complaint with the Cybercrime Division of the Hellenic Police.

Authorities launched an immediate investigation and, through coordinated action with banking institutions and Europol, managed to freeze the funds before they could be moved to other accounts. The entire amount was later recovered.

Police said the suspects gained unauthorised access to email exchanges between the shipping company and a foreign bank it worked with.

They then used a fake email address that closely resembled the company’s official email account and sent forged payment instructions, leading to a €4 million transfer being redirected to a company bank account in Bulgaria.

Investigators have identified two foreign nationals in connection with the case. They include the legal representative of the company that received the money and another person involved in managing the account.

A case file has been submitted to the competent prosecutor on charges of computer fraud involving a particularly large amount and unauthorised access to an information system or data.

According to the Hellenic Police, the successful recovery of the funds was made possible through cooperation between the Cybercrime Division, the Authority for Combating Money Laundering, the Directorate of International Police Cooperation through its Europol Division, and the banks involved.

Police said the money was first frozen and later recovered in full before it could be split into smaller transfers or moved to other accounts.

Business Email Compromise is one of the most common forms of cyber fraud targeting businesses worldwide.

In these attacks, criminals either gain access to or impersonate corporate email accounts, monitor business communications over time, and intervene during financial transactions by changing bank account details so that payments are sent to accounts under their control.

References: shippingtelegraph, protothema