Corsican Controversy - Be Wary of Wire Transfers.

• Author: Myrtetus, E. Duffy

An old friend from Miami now lives with his family in London, a renown international travel hub. They have made the most of their travel opportunities living there. Over the years, I have had to hear stories about trips they've made to a wide range of exotic destinations in Europe, the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, etc. About eight years ago, he told me about a trip his family planned to Corsica. At the time, I knew little about Corsica but was intrigued. (1)

He researched and found a reputable, legitimate well known international travel agency with offices in Spain that handled rentals in Corsica. A beautiful villa was located to serve as a home base for a week-long trip traveling the island. Consistent with these types of transactions, half of the week's rental was due up front via wire transfer with the initial rental paperwork, passport information, etc.--the balance of the rental was due two weeks before arrival. He placed the initial wire, sent the paperwork, and called to confirm receipt. A confirmation email was sent from the travel agency acknowledging receipt. Two weeks before departure, he received an email from the travel agency confirming the details of his rental and providing directions for the wire transfer of the final balance owed. He placed the final wire transfer and excitedly tackled final planning details for the trip.

Their flight arrived in Corsica, they rented a car and drove to the villa. When they arrived, the front door was locked; so, they called the rental agency who sent local representatives out to the property. "Quale si?" (Who are you?) the locals inquired in the local Corsu language. "The renters for this week," was the friend's response. "No. The house is not rented this week," was the reply; and, thus, began negotiations of a major U.S.-Corsican international incident that culminated in a final (but expensive) solution for access to the villa.

Turns out the rental agency's email system had been hacked. The hacker obtained the details of my friend's rental transaction, including his email and the balance owed. It then provided fraudulent wire transfer instructions to my friend, which were later used for the transfer of the rental balance owed. That wire transfer never reached the rental agency, and the owner assumed there was no rental. The renters did not learn about the fraud until they were locked out at arrival on the front door threshold of their rental villa. By the time the renters figured out...