Wellington, Oct 7 (IANS): Two New Zealand companies have lost "significant sums of money" after they placed orders on Chinese companies which fell victim to internet hackers, police said here Monday.

Both companies had dealt with their Chinese suppliers for many years, paying deposits into international bank accounts for goods which they imported into New Zealand, reports Xinhua.

In both cases, the e-mail accounts of the Chinese suppliers had been hacked.

"The New Zealand businesses received an e-mail asking them to transfer their usual deposit into different bank account. When the businesses replied, why they have been asked to deposit money into an account that differs from the usual one, the companies were confirmed that the directions are correct," the police said.

"The confirmation e-mail was a fraudulent message that has been sent by hackers who accessed the Chinese e-mail account," said the police.

The crime had come to light after several weeks when the Chinese suppliers contacted the New Zealand importers to inquire why they had failed to pay their deposits.