Staffers from a Canadian University lost US$9.5million in an online phishing scam

Staff from the university in Edmonton, Alberta, paid money into a fraudulently created account, because of emails convincing them that one of its clients was changing their bank details.

No charges have been made, although police have traced the funds to accounts in Montreal and Hong Kong.

University spokesperson, David Beharry, said in a statement: “There is never a good time for something like this to happen.

“As our students come back to start the new academic year, we want to assure them and the community that our IT systems were not compromised during this incident.”

The scam was found a hoax when the real client complained of non-payment.

Written by Leah Alger