You’ve probably heard stories like this one before: A person in a business is supposed to send a wire transfer to another business. They receive an email at the last minute, often with a panicked tone, making an urgent request – their primary bank account is unavailable, so the money will need to be sent to a different bank.
The email is from a recognized email address. It looks like their emails (with all the right typos and grammatical mistakes), and even “sounds” like them. The panicked tone and urgent demand put the reader into emergency mode – changes will have to be made quickly to get this transfer done on time. Both management and the receiving company will likely appreciate the hard work.
The money is sent, but later that day a representative from the other company calls asking about the money. It was never received. Because the new wiring instructions caused the funds to be sent to an account controlled by a hacker. And absent a miracle, it’s gone.
The email looked right. It even felt right. But it wasn’t. It was sent by a hacker. It was the result of a Business Email Compromise.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What is a Business Email Compromise;
- What can a hacker who gains access to a business email account do with it;
- Why BEC scams have become so common and so lucrative; and
- How can you protect yourself against these insidious, relentless attacks?
For more information, resources, and a full transcript of this episode, check out the original post.
