ITIC Warns P&I Correspondents After Fraudsters Divert US$200,000 Crew Settlement

The International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has warned P&I correspondents to be more careful when making payments after a fraudster intercepted email communications during a crew claim settlement and diverted a US$200,000 payment.

The incident, outlined in ITIC’s latest Claims Review, involved a sensitive settlement related to a deceased seafarer.

While a P&I correspondent was handling the claim, a third party accessed email exchanges and began posing as several people involved in the process, including members of the seafarer’s family.

According to ITIC, the fraudster used fake email addresses and forged documents to provide false bank details and fraudulent settlement approvals.

Believing the emails to be genuine, the correspondent transferred the US$200,000 settlement to the bank account provided by the fraudster.

The fraud was discovered only after the seafarer’s family contacted the correspondent to ask why they had not received the payment. By that time, the money had already been withdrawn and could not be recovered.

ITIC’s Claims Director, Mark Brattman, said the case showed how advanced payment interception fraud has become. He explained that email interception is a common method used by fraudsters and often targets high-value payments, especially when cases are sensitive or time-critical.

In this situation, the fraudster took advantage of the emotional nature of the claim and relied on convincing but fake documents.

Brattman also pointed out that fraudulent emails have become very difficult to identify just by reading them. He said any request to change bank details should be treated as a serious warning sign.

Differences in the country where a bank account is held, or a mismatch between the account name and the actual payee, should be treated as warning signs and checked carefully.

Once the fraud was discovered, the correspondent informed the P&I Club immediately. Legal advisers were then appointed to confirm the claimant’s identity and ensure the settlement was handled correctly.

The shipowner paid the settlement again from its own funds and also covered the additional legal costs so that the family received the compensation owed to them.

ITIC later confirmed that the correspondent was covered under its insurance.

The club found that the incident happened because fraudulent emails were not identified and new bank details were not properly checked before the payment was approved.

As a result, ITIC reimbursed the correspondent for the extra legal costs linked to the case.

ITIC has since advised P&I correspondents to improve checks on identities and payment instructions by using secure and more than one method of communication.

The club stressed that bank details should always be verified using independent contact information, such as publicly available phone numbers, rather than relying on email details.

It also urged members to maintain strong internal controls, especially when dealing with settlements and other high-value payments.

Reference: itic

Source: Maritime Shipping News