• Postmaster Gen. says preliminary findings suggest phishing attack 

The Posts Department is awaiting confirmation from the United States (US) Postal Service regarding the payment of US$ 625,000 that has reportedly not been received by the latter, Postmaster General R.P. Sathkumara said.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (29), he said the Department had made the payment, but it was later informed by the US Postal Service the funds had not been received. He said the Department had subsequently sought further clarification from the US Postal Service to confirm the position, but a response is yet to be received.

When queried regarding the nature of the incident, he said: "Preliminary findings suggest the incident bears the characteristics of a phishing-related occurrence. It has been observed that there was an issue relating to the bank account involved in the transaction. We have received an electronic mail indicating that the relevant bank account details had been changed. However, when inquiries were made with the bank, we were informed that the account in question is currently inactive."

He added that a complaint has been lodged with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which has already begun an investigation into the incident. In addition, he said that an internal inquiry within the Department is also currently under way.

On Tuesday (28), Cabinet Spokesperson and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said that investigations had been launched into a payment made by the Department to the US Postal Service, which had reportedly not been received by the intended recipient. He said that the US Postal Service had indicated that it had not received the payment amounting to $ 625,000, adding that investigations are being carried out by both the Posts Department and the CID to determine how the incident occurred.