A Perth tourism business owner who lost $80,000 in an email scam has revealed that fraudsters later tried to divert a further $200,000 payment from his company.
Meng Wong, 63, has operated Blue Travel since 1992. In April 2024, an overseas client transferred money for a Western Australian tour package to a bank account controlled by scammers after criminals impersonated both businesses.
The client, a Taiwanese travel agency, had arranged a trip for 20 tourists at a cost of $100,000. It paid a $20,000 deposit and was due to send the remaining $80,000 before the group arrived.
When the balance did not appear, Mr Wong contacted the agency and was told the payment had already been made. Checking the details showed the money had been sent to an account that did not belong to Blue Travel.
The fraudsters had intercepted emails and registered two domain names closely resembling those used by Mr Wong’s company and the Taiwanese agency. The businesses then communicated using the fake addresses without realising they were dealing with impostors.
The Taiwanese agency was told Blue Travel had opened a new bank account because of changes to government policy. It followed the instructions and transferred the outstanding payment, while Mr Wong received messages that appeared to come from his client.
The deception was discovered only after the money disappeared. Mr Wong said it was never recovered, and the incident damaged the relationship between the two businesses, with the client questioning whether he had been involved.
“So when I’m losing money here I’m panicking and yet my customer thinks that I’m conning them,” he said.
With the tourists’ arrival approaching, the Taiwanese agency paid local suppliers directly. Mr Wong also surrendered his profit and covered additional costs so the trip could proceed.
A second payment scam attempt
More than two years later, while discussing the original incident, Mr Wong noticed another suspicious email apparently sent from his own account.
A Hong Kong client had received a message instructing it to stop making payments to Blue Travel’s existing bank account. Although the email appeared to come from the company’s genuine address, other recipients had been copied using a similar but fraudulent domain.
The message said the existing account was no longer in use and that a revised invoice would be issued. It also requested a telephone number so the company’s accounts team could supposedly verify new bank details.
Mr Wong had sent neither the email nor any request to change the account. The Hong Kong client contacted him directly before making the payment, preventing the attempted theft of $200,000.
He is now working with an IT specialist to secure the business’s email account. It is unclear whether the same criminals were responsible for both incidents.
Mr Wong said the experience showed how difficult it was for small businesses to defend themselves against increasingly convincing scams. He is urging clients to confirm payment details directly rather than relying solely on email, and has called for stronger safeguards when the name of a payment recipient does not match the bank account receiving the money.
“When you’re in a jungle, it’s either you learn to survive or you sit there feeling sorry for yourself,” he said.
Small businesses warned over email scams
The incidents come amid warnings that small businesses remain attractive targets for cybercriminals. Research by business insurance comparison platform BizCover found that 43 per cent of 545 insured Australian small business owners had encountered at least one potential cyber threat between June 2025 and 2026.
Brad Miller, BizCover’s general manager, said businesses should not assume they were too small to attract criminals, who could exploit customer information or target vulnerable payment systems.
He warned that scammers could impersonate trusted suppliers and send convincing requests to transfer money to a different bank account. Businesses should independently verify any change in payment instructions by calling a known contact, rather than using details contained in the suspicious message.
Mr Miller also recommended clear payment procedures, multi-factor authentication and strong passwords. Cyber insurance may provide an additional safeguard, he said, although policies vary and may not cover every loss caused by a scam.
