Business Email Compromise, FBI and Wire Transfer

How Financial Institutions Can Combat Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Fi911

JUNE 9, 2025

billion in 2021 alone , according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Banks and credit unions face a perfect storm of attractive targets, sophisticated attackers, and mounting regulatory scrutiny that makes BEC prevention a critical priority. Operational costs mount quickly during BEC incidents.

Email Compromise

Email Compromise Business Email Compromise Compromise Law Enforcement

FBI, BBB Sound Another Business Email Compromise Alarm

PYMNTS

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was deployed to Kenya to investigate the matter after accounts payable department professionals for Fairfax County, Virginia received an email claiming to be from Dell Computers, requesting that the county reroute pending payments to a different, Ohio-based account.

Email Compromise

Email Compromise FBI Compromise Business Email Compromise

FBI Arrests 74 People For Business Email Compromise Scams

PYMNTS

JUNE 12, 2018

Federal authorities including the Department of Justice and the FBI announced Monday (June 11) that law enforcement arrested 74 people in the U.S. and overseas for engaging in international business email compromise schemes aimed at intercepting and stealing wire transfers from individuals and businesses.

Email Compromise

Email Compromise FBI Compromise Scams

Study Sees BEC Scams Gaining Ground

PYMNTS

JANUARY 18, 2019

Unlike traditional [business email compromise (BEC)] attacks, which are starting to raise red flags with financial institutions, payroll diversion attacks eliminate the interaction with banks because it is a direct deposit instead of a wire transfer,” said Crane Hassold, senior director of threat research at the firm.

Business Email Compromise

Business Email Compromise Scams Payroll Audit

AscendantFX Makes The Case For Wire Transfer

PYMNTS

OCTOBER 10, 2018

Rarely does the wire transfer come into play as an exciting, innovative payment rail ready to disrupt cross-border B2B payments. The wire transfer, made popular by Western Union more than 150 years ago, may not seem to be the most innovative rail. Thieves attempted to steal $5.3 counterparts are not available.

Wire Transfer

Wire Transfer Wire Wires Cross-Border

The B2B Payments Fraud Threat Of Internal Employees

PYMNTS

JANUARY 13, 2020

That means the vast majority of businesses are at risk for an array of cybersecurity incidents, including the Business Email Compromise (BEC), which often sees fraudsters spoofing legitimate email addresses from vendors, and sending seemingly real requests for payment. According to local Kentucky Today reports, $1.5

B2B

B2B Wire Transfer FBI Cybersecurity

Plot Thickens as FBI Probes Alleged MyPayrollHR Fraud

PYMNTS

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

Unlike traditional [business email compromise (BEC)] attacks, which are starting to raise red flags with financial institutions, payroll diversion attacks eliminate the interaction with banks because it is a direct deposit instead of a wire transfer,” said Crane Hassold, senior director of threat research at the firm in January.

FBI

FBI Direct Deposit Wire Transfer Payroll

Business Email Scams Spin Even Wider Webs

PYMNTS

JULY 25, 2018

If the Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam isn’t on the radar of every corporate finance executive, it certainly should be. The 2018 report, sponsored by JPMorgan , finds fraudsters are spinning their BEC webs even broader, targeting new channels of business transactions.

Scams

Scams Business Email Compromise AFP Wire Transfer

KnowBe4 Phishing Tool Looks To Take Down CEO Fraud

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 6, 2016

KnowBe4 , a security awareness training and simulated phishing platform provider, launched a new tool designed to help IT managers combat CEO fraud, or Business Email Compromise (BEC) as it is referred to by the FBI. Once inside, cybercriminals can monitor the financial connections and interactions within the company.

Phishing

Phishing Wire Transfer Email Compromise Business Email Compromise

Organizations' Fraud Threats Rise This Holiday Season

PYMNTS

DECEMBER 8, 2020

According to cybersecurity experts, email scams rise during the holidays, with business email compromise (BEC) an especially concerning scam. According to the FBI, professionals must be "wary" of online job postings that cater to the remote worker, with many of these posts having fraudulent intentions.

FBI

FBI Business Email Compromise Scams Mitigation

Deep Dive: Why Businesses Are Seeking New Technologies To Optimize Cross-Border B2B Payments During The Pandemic

PYMNTS

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

Many firms still process cross-border transactions through wire transfers. A large portion of cross-border B2B transactions are sent via wire transfers: 69 percent of businesses tapped this method for cross-border payments in 2019. Fraud scams targeting these wire transfers have long been an issue, with U.S.

Cross-Border

Cross-Border Wire Transfer B2B Wire

Email B2B Scams Cost $26B Over Last Three Years

PYMNTS

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

“Business email compromise involves a criminal impersonating a senior executive or trusted business partner, reaching out to a member of their staff, and convincing that person to wire money to an account to pay a debt or fulfill a purchase order.”. This is not the first time the FBI has sounded a warning about business email compromise.

Scams

Scams Email Compromise Compromise Wire

When Email Becomes SMBs’ Biggest Security Threat

PYMNTS

JANUARY 16, 2020

The business email compromise (BEC) scam is a cybersecurity threat to businesses of all sizes, and the financial and security implications of a successful attack aren’t isolated to its target. The BEC scam can manifest in many forms. Beyond The BEC. It is so easy for attackers to pull off these kinds of scams,” he said.

Business Email Compromise

Business Email Compromise Security Scams Email Compromise

Faster Payments, Open Banking Should Keep Treasurers On High Alert

PYMNTS

JANUARY 9, 2019

Among the most prevalent is the Business Email Compromise (BEC), a type of social engineering attack that received significant attention last year. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has now pegged total losses to BEC scams at $12 billion across 150 countries, marking a 136 percent rise in BEC cases between December 2016 and May 2018.

Faster Payments

Faster Payments Business Email Compromise Treasury Real Time Payments

Payments Space

How Financial Institutions Can Combat Business Email Compromise (BEC)

FBI, BBB Sound Another Business Email Compromise Alarm

Trending Sources

FBI Arrests 74 People For Business Email Compromise Scams

Study Sees BEC Scams Gaining Ground

AscendantFX Makes The Case For Wire Transfer

The B2B Payments Fraud Threat Of Internal Employees

Plot Thickens as FBI Probes Alleged MyPayrollHR Fraud

Business Email Scams Spin Even Wider Webs

KnowBe4 Phishing Tool Looks To Take Down CEO Fraud

Organizations' Fraud Threats Rise This Holiday Season

Deep Dive: Why Businesses Are Seeking New Technologies To Optimize Cross-Border B2B Payments During The Pandemic

Email B2B Scams Cost $26B Over Last Three Years

When Email Becomes SMBs’ Biggest Security Threat

Faster Payments, Open Banking Should Keep Treasurers On High Alert

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