Candia Fisher Of Fisher Brothers Real Estate Loses Half A Million In Email Scam

Candia Fisher of the Fisher Brothers real estate family has been the victim of an email scam that is costing her a whopping total of $548,725.

The 64-year old billionaire reportedly has an "obsession" with the usage of email, making herself susceptible to scammers who pose as Fisher and access secure, personal information.

The Post describes the scam:

Posing as Fisher, the cyber-thief ordered her secretary to wire boatloads of dough overseas to banks in Australia at least six times, nearly once every day, last week, the sources said. In all, the hacker was able to steal a total of $548,725 before a company financial secretary finally questioned Fisher about the wire transfers Monday around 4 p.m.

Fisher, who also happened to produce Daniel Radcliffe's "Equus," owns several properties in Connecticut including a multi-million dollar home in Westport that she purchased in 2005 as a "reward ... to have a year-round, seaside home."

The dent in Fisher's account may be relatively trivial considering her wealth, but the incident highlights a lack of security both on the Internet and on personal bank accounts.

Back in November, several dozen waiters employed at high-profile steakhouses in the city were arrested and charged with taking part in a large identity theft ring, allegedly stealing at least $1 million dollars from wealthy restaurant patrons.

In a similar incident, it was reported this week that a group of Nigerian scammers dared to use U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's name in a series of emails, soliciting cash deposits in order to receive fraudulent inheritance claims.