European supplier of Toyota auto parts, victim to a (BEC) scam, resulting in $37 million loss.

In 2019, Toyota Boshoku Corporation, a major European supplier of Toyota auto parts, fell victim to a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam, resulting in a loss of approximately $37 million (¥4 billion).

Cybercriminals impersonated a business partner of the Toyota subsidiary via email. They successfully manipulated an employee in the finance department to change bank account details and transfer funds to an account controlled by the scammers. The fraudulent transfer occurred on August 14, 2019.

Toyota Boshoku became aware of the fraudulent activity shortly after it happened and promptly launched an investigation involving legal professionals. They also reported the incident to the local investigating authorities and have been cooperating fully in the ongoing efforts to recover the stolen funds.

BEC scams like this rely on social engineering tactics rather than technical hacking. The perpetrators often impersonate trusted entities, such as executives or business partners, to deceive employees into making unauthorized payments or divulging sensitive information. In this case, the urgency of the request, claiming that production would be negatively impacted if the transfer wasn't made quickly, likely contributed to the employee's compliance.