No better time than National Cyber Security Awareness Month to spotlight a certain type of business email scam we all need to be aware of. BEC (Business Email Compromise) scams target businesses, resulting in painful financial mistakes, if not recognized. Cyber criminals spoof company e-mail or use social engineering to assume the identity of the CEO, a company attorney, or trusted vendor. They research employees who manage money and use language specific to the company they are targeting, then they request a wire fraud transfer using dollar amounts that lend legitimacy.
This kind of attack recently threatened one of The Fulcrum Group's clients, but thanks to a good degree of background knowledge on their part and due diligence before transacting, no damage was done!
Tips for Businesses:
- Be wary of e-mail-only wire transfer requests and requests involving urgency
- Pick up the phone and verify legitimate business partners.
- Be cautious of mimicked e-mail addresses
- Practice multi-level authentication.
For more info and what to do if you find yourself a victim check out this article from FBI.gov