TUS hit in €100k mail invoice scam

By Rebekah O'Reilly

The Technological University of the Shannon, Midlands Midwest (TUS) has reported a significant financial loss of €49,250 due to an email invoice fraud operation.

The loss was reported in TUS's Annual Financial Statements report.

The report disclosed that the university was subjected to a bank account re-direction fraud in September 2024.

The report said that on September 25, 2024, TUS was subjected to an e-mail invoice re-direction fraud "as a result of a compromise of a supplier’s e-mail account".

According to Seamus McCarthy, Comptroller and Auditor General, the university received a legitimate invoice for services to the value of €98,500 from a supplier in August 2024. A fraudulent email was subsequently received by the University, directing a change in the bank details for payment of the invoice.

TUS paid the full invoiced amount to the bank account indicated in the fraudulent email, without checking independently with the supplier that the bank account details were correct, as required by the University’s control system, he said.

The Governing Body of TUS said it has reviewed and enhanced internal controls and provided a cyber fraud training workshop to finance staff.

The matter was reported externally to An Garda Síochána, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) as part of the annual audit process, the university's governing body said.

Mr McCarthy added: "The University has stated that it has reached agreement with the supplier on a 50:50 sharing of the amount of the loss."

This means that TUS and the supplier will each be responsible for a sum of €49,250 of the financial loss.