What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

[ScamShield]

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a type of cybercrime where a scammer impersonates a trusted individual, like a company executive or vendor, through email to trick someone into sending money or sensitive information to a fraudulent account, often by creating a sense of urgency or using convincing details to appear legitimate; essentially, it's a sophisticated phishing attack targeting specific individuals within a company to gain financial or data access. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Key points about BEC: [1, 2, 3]

• Impersonation: The attacker poses as a known person within the company, like a CEO, CFO, or a regular supplier, to make the request seem credible. [1, 2, 3]
• Urgency tactic: BEC emails often contain a sense of urgency, asking for immediate action to process a payment or provide sensitive information. [1, 3, 4]
• Financial damage: The primary goal of a BEC attack is to trick the victim into transferring funds to a fraudulent account, leading to significant financial losses for the company. [1, 2, 3]
• Sophisticated approach: Unlike typical phishing emails, BEC attacks are carefully crafted with detailed information about the target company and individuals to increase their believability. [3, 4, 6]

Examples of BEC scams: [1, 4, 7]

• An email appearing to be from the CEO requesting an urgent wire transfer to a new bank account for a "confidential business deal". [1, 4, 7]
• A fake invoice from a known vendor with slightly altered bank account details asking for payment. [1, 7, 8]
• A message from the IT department asking for login credentials to "update security settings". [7, 9]

How to protect against BEC: [3, 6, 9]

• Employee awareness training: Educate employees about BEC tactics and how to identify suspicious emails, including verifying sender details and being cautious with urgent requests. [3, 6, 9]
• Email authentication protocols: Implement security measures like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM to verify the legitimacy of email senders. [9, 10]
• Double-checking payment details: Always verify payment details with a phone call before sending money to a new or unusual account. [1, 2, 3]
• Internal controls: Establish procedures that require additional verification for large transactions or sensitive data requests. [8, 9]

Sources:
[1] https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help...on-frauds-and-scams/business-email-compromise
[2] https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/security/business/security-101/what-is-business-email-compromise-bec
[3] https://darktrace.com/cyber-ai-glossary/business-email-compromise
[4] https://www.ibm.com/think/topics/business-email-compromise
[5] https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/types-of-business-email-compromise-bec-scams
[6] https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/files/Business-email-compromise-infographic.pdf
[7] https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/topics/security/what-is-business-email-compromise-bec.html
[8] https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-reference/business-email-compromise
[9] https://www.checkpoint.com/cyber-hu...email-security/business-email-compromise-bec/
[10] https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/cyberpedia/difference-between-business-email-compromise-BEC-and-phishing