Fake payment instruction: Trades (electrical, plumbing, joinery, painting), Germany 2022
Two days after the invoice for 11'000 euros for a garden fence, the customer received new bank details from the tradesperson’s supposed email account and transferred the amount in two instalments to a fraudster.
- Incident · 07.2022 · Rhineland-Palatinate (LG Koblenz), Germany
- Evidence: confirmed by an authority
- Fake payment instruction
- Account takeover
As of
What happened
The LG Koblenz (judgment of 26.3.2025, 8 O 271/22) found a data protection breach by the tradesperson, but considerable contributory negligence on the part of the customer, who had not checked back. The tradesperson receives 75% of the payment for the work (8'250 euros), and the customer may offset 2'750 euros.
- Affected
- Company (anonymous)
- Loss
- EUR 11'000 to the fraudster; the tradesperson loses EUR 2'750
- Business interruption
- unknown
- Ransom demanded / paid
- unknown / unknown
- Data affected
- true
- Bankruptcy
- no
- Entry point
- Hacked email account of the tradesperson; emails with supposedly new bank details
What would cyber insurance have paid?
That depends on the terms. Whether those affected were insured: unknown.
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CEO fraud, diverted payment, fake invoice
Mostly add-on 5 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Third-party claims after a data breach
Liability for data protection and network security breaches
Mostly covered 7 of 9 business products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
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Lawyer and proceedings in an online dispute
Mostly covered 22 of 29 private products cover it fully, as an add-on or with limits.
Overview based on public policy terms, as of 06.11.2026. Only your policy and its general terms and conditions (GTC) are binding. No confirmation of cover.
What we can learn
When account details are changed, the business and the customer share the loss depending on their diligence; a short call-back would have prevented it entirely.
Sources
- Mailkonto gehackt: Handwerker bekommt Geld nur teilweise (LG Koblenz, 8 O 271/22) (opens in a new window) Deutsches Handwerksblatt · 2025-07
«Das Risiko der Fehlüberweisung lag somit beim Kunden.»