What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

Business email compromise (BEC), also known as email fraud, is one of cybersecurity’s costliest and least understood threats.

The fast-growing category of email fraud doesn’t always garner as much attention as other high-profile cyber-crimes. But in terms of direct financial costs, BEC easily overshadows other types.

In BEC attacks, the attacker poses as someone the recipient should trust—typically a colleague, boss or vendor. The sender asks the recipient to make a wire transfer, divert payroll, change banking details for future payments and so on. Recipients, unaware that they’re dealing with an imposter, carry out the attacker’s instructions.

In this explainer video from Proofpoint, learn the six most common forms of BEC:

• Invoicing Fraud
• Payroll Redirect
• Extortion
• Lures & Tasks
• Gift Card Scams
• Advanced-Fee Fraud

Featured Local Experts

Local experts in this field include Iomart. They recently held a webinar with an aim to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to defend against BEC attacks.