A successful phishing attack resulted in the loss of 1.5 million against publisher Bonnier Publications.

The attack involved former CEO Dave Freygang. The hackers gained access to his email account and used it to send phishing emails to Accounts Payable employees. The phony emails instructed employees to send $3 million to a Chinese bank.

One employee fell for the scheme and sent two payments of 1.5 million each over the course of a few days.

The New York Post reported that the second payment was recalled before it reached the bank. It was only because the employee decided to verify the payments with Freygang.

Since Bonnier has an office in Florida, the FBI's Tampa team is handling the investigation. Bonniers insurer is also conducting an investigation.

Source: SCMagazine