No matter how the situation panned out, a fraud charge can often be the beginning of a long and arduous legal battle. Some New York residents who have faced repercussions for such charges are left picking up the pieces long after a charge has come and gone. According to some sources, a new type of fraud has swept across the nation: business email compromises.
Last month, Forbes spent time explaining this relatively new wire transfer scam that has ultimately cost over $5 billion worldwide. Defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigations as “business email compromises,” these scams occur when hackers collect information from various companies, acquiring sensitive information such as billing account statements. Then imitating customers, fraudsters can steal identities and bill the targeted company with directions to a scam bank account. Not only have fraudsters attacked companies across the map; Forbes adds that the issue has recently leaked into private sectors, wherein home buyers have become a central target.
Tripwire also speculates on business email compromises and the ways this type of scam has gripped companies across the world, going as far as to call BEC the number one online threat today. Why, many may wonder, are these attacks so vicious? According to Tripwire, BEC use social engineering tactics instead of turning to technical exploitation. As a result, victims often realize they have been targeted only after it is too late. One reason hackers easily mask themselves is because BEC do not utilize payloads — a step that further conceals their malicious intentions. And while companies of all kinds can fall victim to these types of deception, Tripwire considers small businesses to be at the most risk for scams. While other types of cyberattacks continue to unleash their wrath, it is clear that a new form of online deception has been at work.