Business Email Compromise – Nine Smart Ways to Avoid Scammers

Protect yourself and your business from scams and other cyber threats.

One of today’s greatest cyber threats is Business Email Compromise (BEC), a sophisticated scam targeting businesses. These threats target companies as well as their customers and vendors via spoofed email(s). These spoofed emails trick employees, customers, or vendors into making wire transfers to bank accounts thought to belong to their trusted partners. 

These sophisticated scams are on the rise, impacting businesses small and large, swindling them out of money.

Here are nine ways to protect yourself and your business:

1. Do not rely on payment instructions received via email or text messages alone. Confirm requests via phone verification using known numbers.
2. Confirm payment instruction changes directly with the intended recipient, paying special attention to account number changes.
3. Scrutinize requests received via email or text messages that contain unusual details such as unfamiliar sender addresses, grammatical errors or unusual instructions.
4. Know your customers’ and vendors’ habits including reason and forms of payment.
5. Conduct due diligence on onboarding vendors and customers.
6. Be suspicious of requests mentioning secrecy or urgency.
7. Think before you click on unknown emails, links or unsolicited communications.
8. Consider security procedures such as two-step verification for wire payments.
9. Create system rules such as:
   o Flagging emails that are similar to the company’s email address but slightly off.
   o Flagging emails where the “reply” email address is different from the “from” email address shown.
   o Distinguishing internal from external emails.

If you believe you may have been a victim of fraud, contact us immediately at 1(855)263-7268. For more information about protecting your accounts, visit the Amerant Security Center.