Fraudsters impersonating Arpin Group’s chief financial officer have tricked at least two industry partners into sending money, with significant potential losses.
IAM is urging members to verify every payment request that arrives by email from any industry partner after Arpin Group Senior Vice President Mark Greene alerted IAM that spoofed emails appearing to come from the company were circulating and that some moving companies had already paid out money in response.
IAM Director of Global Services Morgana Somers said the association sees this kind of fraud too often. Spoofed emails typically copy a real executive’s name and signature, use an address that differs from the genuine one by a character or two, and ask for an urgent payment or a change to banking details.
The scheme is a form of business email compromise (BEC), the second-costliest cybercrime tracked by the FBI. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 24,768 BEC complaints in 2025, with reported losses of $3.05 billion, up from $2.77 billion in 2024. Phishing and spoofing generated more complaints than any other crime type. For the first time, the FBI also reported more than $30 million in BEC losses enabled by artificial intelligence, which can make fake messages harder to spot.
IAM Member Impact: Moving and relocation companies are especially exposed because they routinely pay partner agents and vendors across borders. Members should confirm any new payment request or change in bank details by phone, using a number already on file rather than one in the email. If a payment has already gone out, they should contact their bank immediately and report the fraud, since quick action improves the chance of recovering funds.
Source: Brandefense; SpyCloud
Member Contributions: Mark Greene, Arpin Group