A Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam is a sophisticated type of cyber fraud targeting businesses with the aim of tricking them into sending money to accounts controlled by criminals. This scam involves fraudsters impersonating corporate executives, suppliers, or other trusted sources via compromised or fraudulently created email accounts.
How BEC Scams Work:
- Email Account Compromise: The scam begins with the compromise of a business email account through phishing, social engineering, or other hacking methods.
- Impersonation: Once an email account is compromised, the scammer poses as a company executive, employee, or a trusted vendor.
- Deceptive Requests: The fraudster then sends emails that appear legitimate, asking for wire transfers, payment of invoices, or sensitive information.
- Urgency and Secrecy: These emails often convey a sense of urgency or secrecy, pressuring the recipient to act quickly without verifying the request.
Perpetrators:
BEC scams are usually carried out by organized cybercrime groups. These groups are often sophisticated, using advanced methods to avoid detection and targeting businesses of various sizes across different industries.
Predominant Areas:
BEC scams are a global issue, affecting businesses worldwide. However, they are particularly prevalent in regions with high business activities or where there is a significant presence of international companies, such as the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia.
Two Examples of BEC Scams:
- CEO Fraud: A scammer impersonates a company’s CEO and sends an email to the finance department instructing them to transfer funds to an account for a supposedly confidential deal. The account is actually controlled by the scammer.
- Invoice Scam: A business receives an email, supposedly from a known supplier, claiming that their bank account details have changed. The email instructs the business to send future payments to a new account, which belongs to the scammer.
These scams can result in significant financial losses for businesses and are challenging to trace due to the sophisticated tactics used by scammers to conceal their identities and location.
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This page was last updated on December 14, 2023.
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