Detecting a BEC attack starts with recognizing how fraudsters target people, not systems. Business email compromise (BEC) happens when attackers impersonate trusted contacts or take over an employee’s email account.
BEC scams bypass traditional security tools because they rely on social engineering, not technical hacks. Attackers use unusual requests, spoofed domains, and urgent wire transfer instructions to appear legitimate.
Once threat actors gain access or launch an email account compromise, they can change banking details or request sensitive information. These actions blend into normal business email activity, making detection difficult.
Key Takeaways:
-
A BEC attack occurs when attackers impersonate trusted contacts or compromise an employee’s email account.
-
BEC scams bypass traditional security tools by using social engineering and urgent or unusual requests.
-
Once attackers gain access, they can change banking details or send fraudulent wire transfer instructions.
-
Companies must train employees and monitor business email activity to reduce exposure to BEC attempts.
What is BEC and why are all companies at risk?
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a form of cybercrime where attackers impersonate trusted contacts to divert payments or steal sensitive information. A BEC attack often starts with an email account compromise, allowing threat actors to send believable messages from a legitimate email account. Because most business communication happens through email, every organization becomes a potential target.
Individuals who get caught out by email compromise report severe impacts, one of the most worrying being identity theft. Notably, cybercrime losses surged by 33% in 2024. The effects of such a personal crime could last years, leading to damaged creditworthiness, financial losses and a potentially false criminal record.
Business email compromise (BEC) usually works by criminals impersonating a genuine source and using high-pressure tactics in order to access your finances or company secrets. It can place your entire organization at risk since it’s the chosen channel for many different types of fraud.
If Facebook and Google can fall victim to a payment scam of over USD 100 million it is no surprise that fraudsters are investing their energies in more elaborate BEC tactics. The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report states that internet crime losses reached over $16 billion in the US.
Organised crime operations are behind many attacks. Dark Halo, Nobelium, APT29 and Cozy Bear are all names attributed to the group linked to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR. Nigeria is another major source of cybercrime. The risk is real and can be extremely damaging.
What are the main BEC scams?
Attackers seek to acquire funds directly or information to access funds in the future. The FBI has identified five main scams:
Fake Invoices
In this sophisticated BEC attack, fraudsters send fake invoices that appear to come from legitimate suppliers. These invoices redirect payments to compromised accounts, allowing BEC attackers to steal money through manipulated financial transactions.
CEO Fraud
In this case, fraudsters impersonate senior executives and make urgent wire transfer or payment requests. These spoofed email addresses closely resemble real ones, tricking employees into transferring funds to scammers.
Employee Email Accounts Compromise
When an employee’s email account is hacked, it can be exploited to send BEC emails requesting suppliers to reroute payments. This form of account compromise enables attackers to gain access and impersonate users in financial departments, often bypassing detection due to seemingly legitimate email accounts and established communication patterns.
Theft of Sensitive Data
BEC attackers cantarget HR and finance teams to collect sensitive company data, such as personally identifiable information (PII) and tax records. This can lead to sensitive information divulgation, enabling attackers to redirect payments.
Fake Law Firm Requests
BEC schemes may include emails pretending to be from a trusted law firm, using social engineering tactics to trick staff into revealing sensitive information. These unusual requests are designed to manipulate recipients into handing over sensitive data without verifying authenticity.
What are the methods used in business email compromise cases?
Business Email Compromise (BEC) cases rely on social engineering and technical deception to hijack communication, steal credentials, and redirect payments. Scammers will research and monitor targeted companies and employees. Fake emails will be extremely convincing. Any company finance department will give you at least one example of an employee making, or almost making, a payment to a fraudulent account.
To carry out these scams, attackers use a range of techniques:
Spam Emails
Unsolicited spam messages often containing malware like keyloggers track user behavior and steal login credentials.
Spoofing
Spoofing is a scam where fraudsters send emails from addresses that closely resemble legitimate ones to mislead recipients and gain trust. Fraudsters use spoofed email addresses to pose as trusted sources and gather sensitive business information.
Phishing
Phishing emails appear to come from credible sources but contain links designed to steal useful information like banking details or cloud storage credentials.
Spear Phishing
Spear phishing uses information from social media to make BEC emails more convincing and increase the chances of revealing sensitive information.
Pharming
Pharming tricks users into visiting fake websites that look real, leading to fake login pages that harvest account credentials.
Malware
BEC attackers deploy malware to infiltrate systems, monitor communication, and launch advanced threats for financial gain.
Learn more about fraud trends in our 2025 US Fraud Report!
How to detect and prevent business email compromise (BEC)?
Businesses can detect and prevent Business Email Compromise (BEC) by monitoring unusual email behavior, strengthening verification steps, and limiting opportunities for email account compromise.
As well as diverting funds, BEC can lead to ransomware taking control of accounts or files obtained until payment is made to release them.
Education, internal controls, and software will all have a significant impact on a criminal’s ability to access email accounts.
Employee training
Make sure employees are aware of the risks and methods of business email compromise attacks.
You can increase security awareness within your business by teaching your people what to look for. Here are some manual ways to detect business email compromise:
-
Check the domain: spoof domains are very similar but not identical to the real credentials. An example of spoofing might be: scammer@frauds.org instead of scammer@frauds.com
-
Does the subject line sound weird? Urgency in the subject line may be considered a sign of a cyber attack. One version of this includes “Payment Deadline”, for example.
-
Are the links malicious? You can hover open a link to see if it links to what you’re expecting or redirect you to another (potentially harmful malware) site
Employee training isn’t enough. Platforms like Trustpair use advanced algorithms to automatically verify supplier bank details and payment requests in real time – blocking fraudulent transactions before they happen and minimizing losses from BEC attacks.
Email security
Avoid using web-based emails and enforce multifactor authentication to prevent unauthorized access. Set up intrusion detection rules to flag emails from spoofed email addresses or domains that closely mimic your own (domain spoofing), especially when the reply-to address differs from the sender.
Website safeguards
Secure and register similar domain names to avoid legitimate-looking websites and emails being produced. Even better: upgrade your firewall or antivirus program if you can. This should create an added layer of protection against advanced threats and block phishing links trying to steal login credentials.
Social media awareness
Limit the amount of information shared publicly about employees’ roles and responsibilities to reduce risks of BEC attackers using social engineering tactics to craft convincing scams.
Know your suppliers
Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date supplier database helps identify unusual requests or suspicious changes, reducing exposure to vendor email compromise and BEC scams.
Payment approvals
Upgrade your internal controls around the payment chain. This could mean using dual approval or segregation of duties for payments and limiting those who can make them. Account details should be systematically verified.
Confirmation requests
Always verify payment instructions through – using trusted contact information already on file to detect and prevent urgent wire transfer fraud.
Why using the right software is important?
Effective software can help detect fraud and monitor payment activities automatically. Trustpair’s platform offers real-time validation of supplier bank details worldwide, reducing account compromise risks. It also secures your payment process and gives your team full visibility to make confident decisions. Prevent fraudsters from gaining access to your financial data with Trustpair.