Business email compromise (BEC) scams have cost businesses worldwide £9.52bn ($nearly £200,000) in five years, according to FBI research. Now, human resources departments are being targeted by fraudsters attempting to redirect workers' salaries into different bank accounts. Small businesses are most at risk because they have smaller IT departments that lack the software to counter the attacks. BEC scams are increasing because more companies are using cloud services that detect traditional phishing attacks, such as malware. This forces fraudsters to engage in a higher level of interaction with their victim in order to successfully trick and defraud them.
Business email compromise (BEC) scams have cost businesses worldwide £9.52bn ($12.6bn) in five years, according to FBI research. Now, human resources departments are being targeted by fraudsters attempting to redirect workers' salaries into different bank accounts. Small businesses are most at risk because they have smaller IT departments that lack the software to counter the attacks. BEC scams are increasing because more companies are using cloud services that detect traditional phishing attacks, such as malware. This forces fraudsters to engage in a higher level of interaction with their victim in order to successfully trick and defraud them.