E-Mail Scam Tricking Businesses Into Wiring Funds to Hackers Grows 270%

This week the FBI said an e-mail scam that tricks businesses into wiring funds to hackers has increased 270% since the beginning of 2015. The FBI has named the scam “Business E-Mail Compromise” or “BEC”. The scam occurs when a hacker infiltrates the e-mail of a company executive. The hacker will then send an e-mail, which looks like it is from the executive’s e-mail account, instructing another employee to wire funds to a third party, such as a fake vendor account set up by the hacker. The FBI has statistics from their Internet Crime Complaint Center showing that more than 7,000 U.S. companies have been victimized. The total losses are estimated to be more than $740 million.

This scam shows the sophistication of the hackers. Gone are the days of easy to spot scam e-mails from our “friends” who went on an international trip, had all their money and belongings stolen, and need you to wire them money so they can return home. It underscores the importance of having processes in place to verify requests for the wire transfer of funds. The biggest takeaway, however, is the need to involve people at all levels of your business in security awareness. Often times, C-level executives do not think they need the same training or involvement in cyber security as the other employees in the company. They should understand that as the scammers/hackers become increasingly sophisticated, they are more likely to be targeted.

Written by: Richard Sheinis, Esq.