7 Types of Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks

Many types of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams present a sophisticated threat to organizations worldwide, exploiting the most vulnerable element of security measures: human psychology. Unlike traditional cyber-attacks that rely on brute force or complex hacking techniques, BEC attacks harness the simplicity of email communication to orchestrate fraud. By masquerading as legitimate email correspondences, BEC attackers manipulate employees into unauthorized transactions or the divulging of sensitive information, thereby targeting a business to defraud the company. For a more in depth exploration you can learn more about this cybercrime when you read our Business Email Compromise deep-dive.

The statistics on BEC scams are alarming, underscoring the urgency for enhanced email security measures. Research indicates a significant rise in BEC incidents, highlighting not only their prevalence but also their evolving sophistication. This escalating threat landscape calls for an acute awareness and understanding of BEC scams among businesses of all sizes. Whether it’s a meticulously crafted email scam designed to mimic the identity of a trusted colleague or an elaborate scheme that plays the long game, the objective remains consistent—to exploit the inherent trust in email communication for financial gain.

As we delve into the types of Business Email Compromise attacks, it’s essential to recognize the varied nature of these threats. From CEO fraud to invoice or payroll redirection and beyond, each method showcases the attackers’ ingenuity in exploiting email for malicious purposes. This article aims to equip you with a comprehensive understanding of BEC scams, offering insights into their operation and, crucially, providing guidance on fortifying your organization against such insidious threats.

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What is a Business Email Compromise Attack?

Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are sophisticated scams targeting companies by manipulating email communications. These scams involve sending emails that mimic those from trusted sources, like executives or partners, to trick employees into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts or leaking sensitive information. Such attacks exploit the trust placed in business email accounts, often requiring little more than convincing social engineering tactics to succeed. The consequences of a successful BEC scam can be financially devastating, underscoring the need for vigilant email security and awareness among employees.

BEC scams demonstrate that attackers do not need advanced technical skills—just a plausible email can lead to significant losses. To combat these threats, businesses must prioritize robust email protection measures and educate their teams about the hallmarks of BEC fraud.

This overview highlights the urgent need for businesses to enhance email security protocols and foster a culture of skepticism towards unexpected email requests, especially those involving financial transactions or sensitive data.

What are the different types of Business Email Compromise Attacks?

BEC attacks manipulate the trust placed in email communications, leading to financial loss and data breaches. Here, we explore the primary types of Business Email Compromise attacks, each utilizing similar, albeit unique, tactics to exploit businesses.

CEO Fraud

CEO Fraud involves impersonation of high-ranking business executives. Attackers send emails from the CEO’s or another executive’s spoofed email address, requesting urgent financial transactions or sensitive information. Employees, believing the request is legitimate, may comply without verifying the authenticity, leading to significant financial losses.

Phishing Attacks

Phishing is the starting point for most BEC scams, using deceptive emails to trick recipients.

Spear Phishing Attacks target specific individuals within an organization, using personalized information to increase the credibility of the fake email.
Whaling Attacks are a form of spear phishing that targets top executives and senior management, aiming to steal money or sensitive corporate information.

Invoice Fraud

This type involves attackers posing as regular suppliers requesting payment for services rendered. They send fake invoices that look remarkably similar to genuine ones but direct payments to fraudulent accounts.

Vendor Impersonation

Attackers pretend to be vendors or partners of the target company, sending emails that instruct the company to redirect payments to new bank accounts, supposedly due to changes in financial details.

A few common varieties of vendor impersonation are as follows:

Attorney Impersonation involves scammers posing as legal counsel, often pressuring employees to make financial transactions under the guise of confidentiality and urgency.
Accountant Impersonation sees attackers pretending to be the company’s accountant, manipulating financial transactions or information.
Banker Impersonation sees attackers pretending to be the company’s bank, asking for sensitive financial information or transactions to be made.
Real Estate Impersonation scams target property transactions, redirecting payment of deposits or final settlements to fraudulent accounts.

Data Breach and Data Theft

In these attacks, cybercriminals aim to steal sensitive information. They often target HR or executive staff to gain access to personal data of employees, which can be used in future attacks or for identity theft.

Email Account Compromise (EAC)

EAC involves the hacking of an employee’s legitimate email account. The compromised account is then used for further BEC scams, making the fraudulent emails appear even more convincing since they come from a known and trusted email address within the company.

Understanding these types of BEC attacks is crucial for businesses to develop effective defenses, emphasizing the importance of employee training, rigorous email verification processes, and advanced security measures to detect and prevent these scams.

Commodity Theft

A newer tactic, Commodity Theft, sees attackers posing as legitimate buyers to order goods on credit, which they never intend to pay for. By impersonating reputable companies, they manage to acquire valuable commodities, such as construction materials or technology hardware, leaving the supplier with financial losses when the fraud is discovered.

How do Most BEC Attacks Work?

BEC attacks start with an actor who meticulously plans their approach to send an email designed to trick recipients into believing it’s from a trusted source. These scams typically exploit the email system through techniques like email spoofing, where the attacker manipulates the sender information to appear as if the email is coming from a legitimate, often high-ranking, company official. The simplicity yet effectiveness of this method lies in its exploitation of trust and routine within corporate email communications.

BEC scams follow a general pattern:

Research: Attackers gather information about the target business and its employees, often using public sources like company websites, social media, or professional networking sites.
Spoofing and Impersonation: Using the gathered data, the attacker crafts impersonation emails that mimic those of a trusted figure within the company, such as a CEO or CFO. These emails are made to look and sound legitimate, often requiring urgent action related to financial transactions.
Urgent Requests: The emails typically convey a sense of urgency, prompting the recipient to act swiftly. Common requests include wire transfers, payment of invoices, or sending of sensitive information, all directed to accounts controlled by the fraudster.
Social Engineering: The success of BEC attacks largely relies on social engineering techniques, exploiting human psychology and the natural tendency to trust emails from seemingly authoritative sources.

Understanding how these attacks unfold can empower organizations to bolster their defenses, emphasizing the need for vigilance and training in recognizing and responding to potential email threats.

How to Recognize a BEC Attack

Identifying a Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack before it inflicts harm is key to safeguarding your organization’s financial and information assets. Here are detailed indicators to help recognize a BEC attempt:

Unexpected Email Requests: Any email that asks for urgent wire transfers, changes to payment information, or sensitive data sharing, especially if it’s out of the ordinary, should be scrutinized.
Authority Impersonation: BEC attacks often involve the impersonation of high-ranking officials within the organization, such as CEOs or CFOs. The scam email may mimic the tone, style, and signature of the executive but contain unusual requests.
Email Address Discrepancies: Check the sender’s email address closely. BEC scammers might use spoofed or similar-looking email addresses that differ by only a few characters from the authentic one.
Sense of Urgency: Scammers create a sense of urgency to bypass logical thinking. Phrases like “urgent,” “immediate action required,” and “confidential” are used to pressure the recipient into acting hastily.
Grammatical Errors and Typos: While some BEC emails are sophisticated enough to avoid language mistakes, others might contain typos, grammatical errors, or awkward phrasing.
Request for Secrecy: Emails requesting you not to discuss the transaction or email with other colleagues are a red flag. This tactic is used to prevent detection of the fraud.
Suspicious Attachments or Links: Although BEC emails more commonly rely on text to convince the recipient to act, some may include invoices, payment instructions, or other documents as attachments to appear more legitimate.
Mismatched or Odd “Reply-To” Addresses: Even if the sender’s email looks legitimate, the “reply-to” address may direct your response to a different email account controlled by the attacker.
Changes in Banking Details: Requests to change bank account information for invoice payments should always be verified through direct contact with the sender via a trusted method.
Direct Requests for Personal or Financial Information: Be cautious of any emails directly asking for personal or financial details, especially if it’s unusual for the supposed sender to make such requests.

The above is only a cursory overview of some of the most common ways you or your staff can identify BEC attempt, or successful BEC attack against your business. Read our guide on identifying and investigating BEC scams for a more detailed breakdown.

How to Prevent and Protect Against BEC Attacks

Defending your business from Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By implementing key strategies and fostering an environment of awareness, you can significantly reduce your risk. Here’s a streamlined guide:

Upgrade Your Email Security

Advance Your Email Security: Enhance your current email security with advanced email security solutions. These tools are designed to detect and block sophisticated BEC tactics before they reach your inbox.
Adopt Email Authentication: Implement email authentication protocols such as DMARC, SPF, and DKIM. These standards help to verify the sender’s identity, preventing spoofed and phishing emails from reaching your employees.
Ensure Secure Email Practices: Encourage practices that maintain secure email communication within your organization. This includes using encryption for sensitive emails and maintaining strong email protocols.

Cultivate Awareness and Training

Security Awareness Training: Regularly conduct security awareness training sessions. Making email security and awareness training a part of your organizational culture is crucial for empowering your employees to recognize and prevent BEC attacks.
Promote Verification and Caution: Teach your team the importance of verifying unusual requests through secondary channels. Encourage them to approach every suspicious email with caution, reinforcing the principle of “verify, then trust.”

Read More: Check out our blog post 6 Ways To Not Be A Victim Of Business Email Compromise.

Implement Technical Safeguards

Enable 2FA/Multi-Factor Authentication: Strengthen your defenses with 2FA or multi-factor authentication. This adds an additional layer of security, making it harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to your systems.
Keep Systems Updated: Regularly update your systems, software, and email solutions to protect against known vulnerabilities that could be exploited in BEC schemes.

Develop an Incident Response Strategy

Be Ready to Take Action: BEC scams might target your systems, your staff, your external partners, or develop and approach that combines these angles. As the methods these crybercriminals use improve, as with all cybercrime, it becomes a game of cat and mouse; with criminals and businesses constantly working to keep ahead of one another. This is why it is crucial to have a plan in place to mitigate losses and contain the damage of Business Email Compromise within your organization, a good first step is researching and selecting a Business Email Compromise investigator to contact in such an event, like those on our team here at Rexxfield.

By integrating these key practices into your cybersecurity strategy, you can safeguard your organization against the ever-present threat of BEC attacks. Remember, a combination of advanced technology, educated employees, and robust security protocols is your best defense against these sophisticated scams.