02/17

Fight Business Email Compromise

Computer crimes never stop – and cyber criminals have taken advantage with all of us working from home.

So, what is Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

BEC is an email scam that targets specific people in an organization with the goal to either steal money, data, or other confidential employee information.

The FBI reported losses of $1.7 billion in 2019 due to BEC. Yikes.

What do these emails look like?

Cyber criminals will send an email message that mostly likely will appear to come from a known source making (what you think) is a legitimate request. Real examples of BEC include:

• Homebuyer receives an email from their title company with instructions on how to wire their down payment.
• A vendor your company works with sends an invoice with an updated mailing address

What are some of the signs of a BEC?

The email address might look slightly different – so it’s important that you remain vigilant. It could be something as little as a moved period in an email address or an added letter.

There’s usually a link within the email asking the receiver to click it to send them information (what you think is a legitimate request).

What can you do to fight BEC?

• Do not click on anything in an unsolicited email asking you to either update or verify account information. Call the company (with a number you already have – not with the number provided in the potentially fake email that was sent to you) and verify with them that way.
• Be vigilant and investigate the email address, URL, and spelling used in the email. Like mentioned before, they’ll only be slight differences.
• Never open an email attachment from someone you don’t know and be wary of attachments forwarded to you.
• If you can, set up multi-factor authentication in your accounts for an extra layer of protection.

It’s important to always be aware of what is being sent to you through your emails. Remain vigilant and keep up the fight against BEC!

*Pacific Alliance Title uses CertifID as an extra layer of protection for wires.