A South Florida small business is making waves in the marine industry. But they sailed into troubled water because of a bogus email. So they called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer. Mark Mitchell, Business Owner: “To the left of the depth van is balance.” If it’s electronic and on a boa t. Mark Mitchell: “This positions the rudder.” Chances are, Mark Mitchell can either install it or fix it. Mark Mitchell: “Ships, yachts, super yachts, mega yachts.” More than 50 years working in the marine industry, he’s in the right town to grow his business. Mark Mitchell: “Which is why we are here in Fort Lauderdale, the mega yacht capital of the world.” All that traffic keeps Mark and his crew busy. Mark Mitchell: “Boats coming and going, they have deadlines for trips and charters, so we have a constant flow of work all day long.” In the middle of all their work, is where Mark ran into his problem. His company got hacked. Mark Mitchell: “Somebody had gotten into our email account.” And just as they were set to make a large purchase, the hacker sent a fake email. Mark Mitchell: “A fraudulent email and he had made it with the same name as the person in that vendor company, except for a slight difference in the domain.” Mark’s company sent the money. Mark Mitchell: “$71,000.” The loss meant Mark couldn’t complete the job he’d been hired to do. Mark Mitchell: “He asked me yesterday when we’re gonna start the job, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him we lost your money and I haven’t bought your product yet.” Howard, scammers are relentless. How can you protect yourself from a situation like this? Howard Finkelstein: “Pay close attention to details in an email, especially when you are sending a large amount of money. And here’s an idea: consider sending a small amount to make sure it lands in the right hands. Then, send the larger amount. And if you think something has gone wrong, immediately call the banks involved.” Luckily, Mark caught it quickly. And he did reach out to the receiving bank, which likely saved most of the money from disappearing forever. Now, he just had to get it back. Mark Mitchell: “They told us that the transmitting bank needed to properly request, and they would release the funds back.” But he couldn’t get through. Mark Mitchell: “It’s not anything out of their pocket. All they have to do is get my money back.” When we reached out to the transmitting bank, they told us they’d look into Mark’s situation. And within a few weeks, $51,000 was back in his account. Mark Mitchell: “I have a feeling that’s all the money that was left in the account that they did return to us.” Calling Help Me Howard got Mark’s business moving forward again. Mark Mitchell: “Oh, 100%. Thank you so much.” They’re still out nearly $20,000. We’ll let you know if they track it down. And one more thing from Howard: call the folks you’re dealing with before sending money to confirm payment information. And use the same number you’re familiar with, not a new one. Got a problem? Need a hand? Here’s how to find us below. It’s Help Me, Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News. CONTACT HELP ME HOWARDEmail: [email protected]: Brandon Beyer at [email protected]: 305-953-WSVNBroward: 954-761-WSVN ...read more read less