Are you a victim of CEO fraud? Here's an immediate action plan to recover funds wired to Hong Kong or Mainland China

Many victims of CEO fraud (also known as business email compromise) are companies involved in cross-border businesses that routinely make international money transfers.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reports that:

• most of the victims are based in the US, but companies from over 100 other countries have been defrauded;
• although fraudulent transfers have been sent to over 79 different countries, most of the money is sent to banks in Mainland China and Hong Kong; and
• the first 24 hours after the fraudulent transfer are critical.

From January 2015 to June 2016, the FBI reported a 1,300 percent increase in exposed dollar losses (which refers to actual and attempted loss) due to CEO fraud at approximately USD 3.1 billion. The extent of this problem could be much higher as many of these crimes may go unreported due to embarrassment or despair at the seeming lack of practical solutions.

The following action plans outline steps to freeze accounts and recover funds.