How To Spot Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Ceo Scam
Criminals on the internet sometimes pretend to be high-ranking officials or legal agents. Accountants, accounting directors, and chief financial officers (CFOs) are the primary targets of this strategy. The cybercriminal will pose as a C-level executive and ask the finance staff for a wire transfer, which will be sent directly to the cybercriminal’s account.
When a C-level professional has legal concerns or an urgent debt to pay, the deception becomes simpler to pull off because of the human response, making it more likely that the employee would accept the transfer.
Invoice Modification Fraud
Businesses that have a longstanding connection with a supplier or customer are more likely to be the target of a fake invoice. Criminals breach the email address of an employee to obtain access to a company account. False invoice payments are requested from clients using this account, and the money is transferred to a bogus account that benefits the criminal.
Compromised Accounts
When attempting to extort money from a company, cybercriminals are known to approach its employees directly via email. This money goes to a criminal’s account. This type of communication is often sent to several suppliers, but it is not delivered by bulk email to prevent being labeled as spam.
Most businesses are unaware of this fraud until their vendors contact them to inquire about the status of invoice payment. Some scammers target tiny firms, while others go after huge organisations. To make the communication appear genuine, the attackers will spend more time researching the targeted victim than they would with other types of phishing schemes.
Misspellings And Fraudulent Attachments
When it comes to spotting email scams, typos and poor language are the most typical red flags. There is a good chance that most emails received within a company are checked for spelling and grammar mistakes by an automated software program. To be on the safe side, avoid opening emails that have a lot of spelling errors.
Attachments, too, typically follow the same logic. The usage of collaboration platforms like SharePoint or Teams typically eliminates the requirement for email-based attachments. Never open any attachments from an unknown sender’s email or click on any links in the email.
Too Good To Be True Email
It’s the job of these emails to convince individuals to click before they’ve had a chance to consider the consequences. Incentives such as limited-time giveaways or prizes may be offered, although they are more likely to be malware conduits than anything else.
It doesn’t matter whether the sender is a well-known acquaintance; accolades without context are suspicious. Contact the sender if you can to double-check the contents of the message.
Conclusion
Employees should be educated and trained on the best practices for spotting and avoiding fraud. The importance of education cannot be overstated.
Choosing a Managed IT Services Provider with knowledge of cybersecurity best practices and applying the solutions that make the most impact on your organization is essential.
