- Jun 9, 2013
- 6,720
The FBI is warning businesses to be on guard for an email scam that it says has cost companies billions of dollars over the last two and a half years.
The scam is known as a Business Email Compromise (BEC), and occurs when a corporate email account is hacked and an email is sent from that compromised account ordering a large wire transfer.
As the email looks like a genuine message, often from a CEO or other C-level executive, it is generally acted upon immediately. Additionally, the hackers have targeted businesses that regularly carry out wire transfers, which makes the request seem more realistic, according toNBC New York.
According to the FBI, since October 2013 hackers have attempted to send $3.1 billion (£2.2 billion, €2.8 billion) in 22,000 separate cases. The majority of cases have involved attempted wire-transfers to banks in China and Hong Kong, Reuters reported.
Not all attempts were successful, although an FBI spokesperson said about one in four of the US victims did send money.
The FBI has discovered a 1300% increase in BEC attempts such as these since January 2015, which has prompted its public announcements at a press conference in New York.
Full Article. FBI Sends Out Warning Over Email Scam Costing Billions
The scam is known as a Business Email Compromise (BEC), and occurs when a corporate email account is hacked and an email is sent from that compromised account ordering a large wire transfer.
As the email looks like a genuine message, often from a CEO or other C-level executive, it is generally acted upon immediately. Additionally, the hackers have targeted businesses that regularly carry out wire transfers, which makes the request seem more realistic, according toNBC New York.
According to the FBI, since October 2013 hackers have attempted to send $3.1 billion (£2.2 billion, €2.8 billion) in 22,000 separate cases. The majority of cases have involved attempted wire-transfers to banks in China and Hong Kong, Reuters reported.
Not all attempts were successful, although an FBI spokesperson said about one in four of the US victims did send money.
The FBI has discovered a 1300% increase in BEC attempts such as these since January 2015, which has prompted its public announcements at a press conference in New York.
Full Article. FBI Sends Out Warning Over Email Scam Costing Billions
