The bad news is that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has reported that there were more than $2.3 Billion Dollars of losses from October 2013 to February 2016 from business e-mail compromise (“B.E.C.”) scams. The good news is that a simple phone call confirming the authenticity of the wire request prior to acting on it will foil the scam one hundred percent of the time.
The essence of the “B.E.C.” scam is that a fraudulent email is sent which looks very close to or exactly like an email from a very familiar company and contact person directing that money be wired to a designation. When the money is wired to the thieves who sent the email, it is with very rare exception gone for good.
If you receive an email request for a wire that looks like it came from a familiar company or person without having first received a phone call with the same information, please pick-up the phone to confirm that the request is authentic. Also, please use the number your familiar with, such as our main number (201-391-3737), and not one referenced in the fraudulent email!
These general types of thefts use other forms of social media, letters, etc. It is very important to use phone confirmations in all of your transactions. Remember a rule of thumb, “If it does not feel right, it probably is not right.” Of course, if you have any questions regarding these scams, cybersecurity threats, or any other issues, we would be pleased to discuss them with you.
FBI Warns of Dramatic Increase in Business E-Mail Scams [April 2016.]
FBI officials are warning potential victims of a dramatic rise in the business e-mail compromise scam or “B.E.C.,” a scheme that targets businesses and has resulted in massive financial losses in Phoenix and other cities.
The schemers go to great lengths to spoof company e-mail or use social engineering to assume the identity of the CEO, a company attorney, or trusted vendor. They research employees who manage money and use language specific to the company they are targeting, then they request a wire fraud transfer using dollar amounts that lend legitimacy.
There are various versions of the scams. Victims range from large corporations to tech companies to small businesses to non-profit organizations. Many times, the fraud targets businesses that work with foreign suppliers or regularly perform wire transfer payments.
- Law enforcement globally has received complaints from victims in every U.S. state and in at least 79 countries.
- From October 2013 through February 2016, law enforcement received reports from 17,642 victims.
- This amounted to more than $2.3 billion in losses.
- Since January 2015, the FBI has seen a 270 percent increase in identified victims and exposed loss.
