What are Common Types of BEC Scams?
Cybercriminals have an evil mind and they use it in devising new tactics to defraud people in many ways. BEC (Business Email Compromise) scams are proof of that. They leave no stone unturned to beguile people into taking rash actions that lead to negative results. Even the most cautious professionals fail to recognize the danger and become victims of the fraud schemes. It is highly important to recognize this danger to deal with them and stay protected. That is why here are some common types of Business Email Compromise scams you must learn about:
CEO Fraud
CEO fraud scammers imitate a high-ranking executive (e.g., CEO, CFO) and send spoof emails to target an individual or company employee asking them to do an immediate wire transfer. They narrate an urgent situation requesting the recipient to make payment quickly. As soon as the employee receives the request he complies with the request without verifying the details sender. In the heat of the moment, the employee ends up sending wire transfers along with all the sensitive details to the cybercriminals.
Invoice Scams
If you are a business owner then a fraudster will come to you as a supplier or vendor to do invoice scams. In invoice scams, scammers send you an invoice with updated bank details to trick you into paying a fake account. You cannot let down your trusted vendors because your business depends on their services. In this situation, fraudsters exploit your trust and trick you into making quick payments. But in reality, those payments go to the swindlers instead of the real supplier and you become a victim of invoice scam.
Payroll Diversion
The payroll diversion targets HR and payroll teams. In this type of scam, the BEC scammer acts like an employee through email and sends an urgent request to HR/payroll to change direct deposit details. As soon as you change the details the paycheck ends up in the fraudster`s account. They take on your account and hard-earned money and disappear without leaving any traces.
Lawyer Impersonation
Scammers know that legal issues arise, and people act fast. They utilize this urgency to commit Business email compromise (BEC) scams. What they do is that they pose as a company’s legal advisor or law firm to approach you using an email. In the email, they request urgent, confidential data e.g., financial records, and employee info to do urgent settlements and resolve disputes. Considering the urgency of the situation to avoid legal complications anyone receiving the request acts quickly and compiles with the request. But by the time the victim realizes, the damage is done, and sensitive information has already fallen into the wrong hands.
Gift Card Scam
Gift card scams are one of the most effective BEC scams in which a scammer pretends to be an executive or manager. They send messages to you as your boss and ask you to urgently buy gift cards and send the codes via email or text. Seeing the message coming from your boss you act instantly. You buy the cards and send the codes back in the reply box. As soon as you do it the scammer grabs them and disappears. Once the codes are sent, the money is gone. It is effective because it doesn’t involve direct money transfers. It makes an easy way for the fraudsters to make money.
How to Identify a Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scam?
Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scams are widespread everywhere. You need to stay alert about these frauds. Scammers play with your trust and create a fake narrative to act urgently. But you have to remain calm and inspect every detail. A few minutes of extra effort beats a big problem along the way.
Here are some signs that help you recognize a BEC scam when receiving an email from an unknown sender:
- Unusual or urgent requests for wire transfers.
- The executive is “traveling” or “in a meeting” and unavailable for calls.
- Email request to change banking details without prior discussion.
- Slight differences in sender email (e.g., hr-dept@companypay.com instead of hr@company.com
- The email address is slightly altered e.g., john.doe@company.com instead of davi.doe@company.com.
- Unexpected legal requests for sensitive information.
- No follow-up from the employee through internal channels.
- Sudden changes in payment details without prior discussion.
- Emails requesting urgency in processing invoices.
- Slight differences in vendor email addresses or invoice formatting.
- The “lawyer” pressures for quick action, often citing legal consequences.
- Email address differs slightly from the real law firm.
- The sender’s email has subtle differences from the actual executive’s address.
- Requests for bulk gift card purchases without prior notice.
- Urgency, often claiming it’s a “surprise reward” for staff.
How to Identify a Business Email Compromise (BEC) Scam?
Keeping the intensity and advanced techniques cybercriminals use to approach a target it is highly essential to use a multi-layered security method to deal with the underlying threat. You need to act on all fronts such as email protection, access control security, process controls, and user awareness. You have to follow a zero-trust policy against every email request made online. Here are some effective tips that can protect your business from BEC scams:
Enhance Your Email Security
First thing first, boost your email security and access control using advanced tools easily available. In this way, the first step you can take is to activate Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) services on your device for email as well as other critical accounts. If someone took your primary login credentials he still won’t be able to access your account without multi-factor authentication. 2FA double down your security that involves OTP, call, or message. Without further authentication, no one can breach your email security.
Extra Layer of Security for Emails
You can implement DMARC, SPF, and DKIM to prevent email spoofing and fake senders acting as someone trusted. These are email protocols that block black hats from sending fake emails that appear to come from a trusted source. You can save your employees from phishing and reduce the risk of unsafe transactions using these technologies.
- SPF allows only authorized servers to send you emails on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to outgoing emails that help recipients verify that it is not tampered with and all the content is legitimate and exactly what is meant to be.
- DMARC improves upon and enhances the protections SPF and DKIM provide. It instructs email servers on how to manage unauthorized emails and gives reports on fake emails.
Double-Check & Detect Suspicious Activity
You need to stay awake and alert while dealing with emails and urgent requests made through them. Always double-check the spelling, domain names, unusual language, and timings when you receive the email. Do not act hastily if it asks for a wire transfer or bank account details of the company. In case of any emergency or urgent, you should always contact the concerned person using other channels to ensure about the situation. Proceed only when everything is confirmed. Along with this, regularly check your accounts for unauthorized transactions.
Educate Employees & Executives
Educating your employees about scams and fraud is a must to make them aware of new threats going on in the digital space. You should conduct regular security awareness training programs to orient your employees and train them to act cautiously when someone approaches them through emails. Teach them to verify every request made for sensitive information or fund transfers. Scammers create a sense of urgency to bypass security checks. In such a case, create a zero-trust infrastructure in your organization. Tell your employees to trust nothing and verify everything using secondary methods like phone calls, messages, and video chats before accepting the request.
Strengthen Payment & Verification Processes
Online swindlers are after your money. In BEC scams, they approach you with a formal request to transfer money on an urgent basis. You need to slow down in this condition. Before you comply with the request, always verify directly with the person using a known contact such as a mobile phone, message, or video call. In addition to this, you must use a dual-approval process for wire transfers and online transactions. Involve only authorized personnel to strengthen and handle the payments and approval of transfers. Check all the details thoroughly before making any transfers.
Create an Incident Response Plan
Always be prepared with a security response plan to tackle cyber attacks. Educate your employees to deal with malicious cyber attacks and protect the digital assets of your company. If a fraudulent transaction takes place make sure to report it to your bank and the cybersecurity investigation cell. Last but not least you should always use advanced cybersecurity tools such as antivirus software, EDR, and XDR technology to deal with the cyber dangers.
Regularly Update Your Security Policies
Update your security policies on a regular basis to prevent hackers from understanding how you manage the security infrastructure in your organization. If someone learned about the protocols and found a way to breach them, you can prevent it by adapting to new policies and process controls in the security infrastructure. So, keep working on improving and upgrading old protocols and adding new and strict verification processes.
Use AI and Automation
Integrating AI-driven security measures in your company’s digital infrastructure can help you deal with the latest phishing attacks at a more proactive level. It can constantly monitor incoming and outgoing emails, online activities, and suspicious emails without retiring. AI tools can trace subtle changes, variations in domain spellings, and suspicious email behavior. If someone tries to impersonate a legitimate email with a slight variation of spellings and domain extension it can identify them. The automated flagging systems can generate an alert to the recipient. Using this, you can test the system for security weaknesses to improve the defenses. Most importantly, it operates at a higher accuracy and removes the risk of human error.
