<p>Business email compromise attacks have become some of the most costly and damaging threats facing organizations today. BEC attacks differ from traditional phishing schemes in that they rely on highly targeted social engineering tactics that exploit human psychology rather than technical vulnerabilities. Such attacks can result in significant financial losses, legal repercussions and operational disruptions — making it imperative for organizations to mitigate them.</p>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Types of BEC attacks”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Types of BEC attacks</h2>
<p><a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/business-email-compromise-BEC-man-in-the-email-attack”>BEC attacks</a> deceive victim employees into transferring money or sharing sensitive company data. These highly targeted attacks often involve extensive research by cybercriminals and the observation of organizational email correspondence to mimic legitimate users and successfully execute their exploits.</p>
<p>Common BEC attack scenarios include:</p>
<ul class=”default-list”>
<li><b>CEO/executive fraud.</b> Attackers impersonate a company executive and instruct the targeted staff to make urgent wire or other related financial transfers.</li>
<li><b>Invoice alteration.</b> Cybercriminals pose as a trusted vendor or business partner, requesting that payments be redirected to attacker-controlled accounts.</li>
<li><b>Legal impersonation. </b>Attackers pretend to be a member of the legal team handling confidential information and request the transfer of specific data.</li>
<li><b>Payroll/HR impersonation. </b>Malicious actors impersonate executives or employees to request changes to payroll or W-2 information, moving funds to attacker-controlled accounts.</li>
<li><b>Account takeover.</b> Attackers fully compromise legitimate user accounts through phishing or by gaining successful access with stolen credentials.</li>
<li><b>Deepfakes. </b>Cybercriminals use <a href=”https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-detect-deepfakes-manually-and-using-AI”>AI-generated or voice-cloned messages</a> to create convincing requests from leadership.</li>
</ul>
</section>
<section class=”section main-article-chapter” data-menu-title=”Real-world examples of BEC attacks”>
<h2 class=”section-title”><i class=”icon” data-icon=”1″></i>Real-world examples of BEC attacks</h2>
<p>Because they prey on human psychology, concepts of authority and workplace culture, BEC scams are highly effective. The following are just a few examples of how criminals have manipulated employees in recent years.</p>
<h3>Meta and Google</h3>
<p>Between 2013 and 2015, cybercriminal Evaldas Rimasauskas and his accomplices used a legitimate Taiwan-based hardware supplier, Quanta Computer, to conduct a BEC attack on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.npr.org/2019/03/25/706715377/man-pleads-guilty-to-phishing-scheme-that-fleeced-facebook-google-of-100-million” rel=”noopener”>Meta and Google</a>. The group created a fake business with the same name in Latvia and sent fraudulent invoices with forged contracts, letters, documents and other corporate seals to the accounts payable departments of Meta and Google, tricking employees. Google suffered a $23 million loss in 2013, and Meta took a $98 million hit in 2015. Both organizations recovered most or all of the funds stolen in the attack. Rimasauskas was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to forfeit $50 million and pay $26 million in restitution.</p>
<h3>Ubiquiti Networks</h3>
<p>In 2015, threat actors impersonated employees at IT company Ubiquiti Networks and <a href=”https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2016/02/08/how-a-tech-billionaires-company-misplaced-46-7-million-and-didnt-know-it/?sh=5532e91450b3″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>sent fraudulent payment requests</a> to the finance department of a Hong Kong subsidiary. The BEC attack, which involved $46.7 million transferred in 14 wire transactions across 17 days to various attacker-controlled overseas accounts, initially went undetected. As of March 2021, Ubiquiti had recovered $18.6 million.</p>
<h3>Fischer Advanced Composite Components AG</h3>
<p>In 2016, <a href=”https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/austrias-facc-hit-by-cyber-fraud-fires-ceo-idUSKCN0YG0ZF/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>attackers impersonated</a> Walter Stephan, then-CEO of Austrian aerospace parts manufacturer Fischer Advanced Composite Components AG. A spoofed email sent to a fina
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