2015-06-05 (incident), The date Ubiquiti determined it had been defrauded; its filings do not give the transfer dates. It disclosed the fraud in a Form 8-K on 6 August 2015. · US · Ubiquiti Networks
Ubiquiti Networks loses $46.7 million to employee impersonation fraud, 2015
Disclosed by the affected organisation.
On 5 June 2015 Ubiquiti Networks determined it had been the victim of a criminal fraud involving employee impersonation and fraudulent requests from an outside entity targeting its finance department, which law enforcement calls business email compromise. The fraud led to transfers totalling $46.7 million, held by a Hong Kong subsidiary, to overseas accounts held by third parties. An audit committee investigation found no evidence that Ubiquiti's systems were penetrated or of employee criminal involvement, but the company concluded its internal control over financial reporting was ineffective. Ubiquiti later reported recovering $16.7 million.
$46.7M (stolen; Total transferred from a Hong Kong subsidiary. Ubiquiti later reported recovering $16.7 million, for a net loss of $30.8 million.)
Timeline
- 2015-06-05 Ubiquiti determines it has been defrauded and contacts its Hong Kong subsidiary's bank.
- 2015-07-17 The audit committee's independent investigation concludes.
- 2015-08-06 Ubiquiti discloses the fraud in a Form 8-K, reporting $8.1 million recovered and a further $6.8 million under legal injunction.
- 2015-12-31 In its quarterly report for the period ending 31 December 2015, Ubiquiti reports $16.7 million recovered and a net loss of $30.8 million.
Lessons
- Require a call-back on a known number before finance staff act on any emailed payment request, especially one that claims to come from a colleague or executive.
- Apply the same payment controls at overseas subsidiaries as at headquarters; these funds were held by a Hong Kong subsidiary.
- Contact your bank and start legal action immediately: Ubiquiti's prompt action recovered part of the money.
Scam types: CEO fraud (executive impersonation)
Sources
- Ubiquiti Networks: Form 8-K, Item 8.01 Business Fraud (August 2015) (Company disclosure, primary, accessed 2026-09-24)
- Ubiquiti Networks: Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 31 December 2015, Note 14 Business email compromise fraud loss (Company disclosure, primary, accessed 2026-09-24)