A Perth business owner has been scammed out of thousands of dollars after a sophisticated online invoice scam.

Owner of Scenic Lodge Thoroughbred Stud Jeremy Smith says he received an invoice from his veterinarian last week that had been intercepted by online hackers.

He told Gareth Parker the bank details had been changed on the invoice.

“It wasn’t just the invoice that was changed, it was also the covering letter that was changed, which was an in-depth sort of thing about things on our horse stud.”

Believing it was legitimate he paid the invoice which totaled almost $17,000.

“We rang the supplier and said we’ve paid your new account details, and they said we haven’t changed our account details.”

He immediately contacted the bank and police.

“At the moment it is in the hands of the fraud squad, we’re not getting a lot of answers, but I don’t think we are going to see our money back. ”

“It was a massive hit, and we are only a small business,” he said.

He shared his story with 6PR Mornings to warn other business owners of the elaborate scam.

“If accounts come through from regular suppliers and they’ve got new bank account details, please ring and check.”

“Somehow they are managing to get in to monitor our emails, and intercept them and change them.”

Click play to hear the full interview. 

(Photo: iStock by Getty Images.)