Scammers duped this New York Supreme Court judge out of $1m with just one email

The stolen amount was reportedly immediately transferred to a bank account managed by the Commerce Bank of China.

Email spam — Email and phishing scams have cost businesses millions over the past few years iStock

A New York State Supreme Court judge has reportedly been scammed out of a little over $1m (£0.79m). The incident reportedly took place as acting Justice Lori Sattler was in the process of selling a property and purchasing a new one.

According to the New York Daily News, scammers – posing as Sattler's attorney – reportedly sent an email to her and asked the judge to send $1,057,500 to a bank account. Sattler reportedly transferred the funds, which was then promptly transferred to a bank account managed by the Commerce Bank of China.

The scam email was sent on 7 June but Justice Sattler reported the incident to the police on 16 June. Not much else is known about the incident as the matter is currently under investigation.

However, this is not the first time when scammers have managed to dupe victims. Email and phishing scams have cost businesses billions of dollars over the past few years. In March, a Lithuanian scammer duped two high-profile US tech firms out of $100m by posing as an Asian hardware manufacturer.

Phishing emails have also been used by prolific cyberespionage groups to target high-profile individuals and government organisations across the globe. Find out more about how to spot fake emails and stay safe from scam emails here.