According to a BBB report, the average BEC loss involving gift cards is $1,000 to $2,000, while the average loss involving wire transfers is $35,000. Instances of BEC fraud tripled between 2016 and 2019, generating more than $3 billion in losses during those years and jumping 50% in the first three months of 2019.
In order to avoid BEC scams, the report recommends that businesses use multi-factor authentication for email logins and train all employees in internet safety, as well as encourage them to confirm any requests by phone before transferring money or information. The BBB also recommends that employees watch out for unsolicited messages containing suspicious links, unusual requests and spelling or grammatical errors.
BEC fraud is the biggest source of losses reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. On Feb. 16, the FBI published a public service announcement warning people of an increase in BEC scams that are carried out through virtual meeting platforms like Zoom.
“Criminals began using virtual meeting platforms to conduct more BEC-related scams due to the rise in remote work because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the PSA reads.
In these instances, scammers will compromise an employer’s email and hold virtual meetings “where the criminal will insert a still picture of the CEO with no audio, or ‘deep fake’ audio, and claim their video/audio is not properly working.” They will then instruct employees to transfer funds via the…
