Leonhard Foeger/Reuters
Scammers used fake emails and cloned websites in an attempt to trick German health authorities into spending $16 million on face masks that didn't exist.
The criminals were paid a $1.6 million down payment before they were foiled by police, Interpol announced this week.
The episode illustrates how scammers are cashing in on government agencies' desperation and need for fast results amid COVID-19.
A multinational scam involving fake email addresses and a cloned website aimed to trick health authorities into handing over $16 million for face masks that didn't exist over the past month.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the scam, Interpol announced this week, and it's now the subject of ongoing investigations across Europe.
German health authorities first allocated $16 million to two buyers in mid-March to procure millions of face masks as the country was entering lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19. The buyers identified a company ostensibly based in Spain selling masks, and made contact using company email addresses.
As it turned out, the company was real, but the website was a fake clone set up by scammers — and the German buyers were in communication with email addresses that had been compromised by the cybercriminals.
"Those arrested in this case had no connections to th ..
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