They’re already inside. Not in your building, not in your server room but inside your communication. They’ve been quietly studying your company for weeks, watching who holds the purse strings, who reacts quickly to urgent requests, and who never double-checks before hitting ‘send. Business Email Compromise (BEC) doesn’t need to hack your system because it hacks your people. With just the right message, tone, and timing, attackers impersonate executives, vendors, or even coworkers to trick employees into sending money or sensitive information. And the scariest part? Everything looks completely normal until it’s too late.
What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)
Business Email Compromise (BEC) is one of the most financially damaging cybercrimes because it exploits trust and often bypasses traditional technical defenses. It is a growing threat that can have severe consequences for organizations. Think of it like this, BEC is when someone sneaks into a company email account without permission and quietly watches everything. They can read emails, browse files in OneDrive or SharePoint, and even follow Teams conversations.
The scariest part? You might not even know they’re there. They’re not just reading your emails, they’re studying your habits, your contacts, your business. Collecting information to later use in their ultimate goal of stealing money from your company, or your vendor, or your client. And the longer they stay hidden, the more damage they can do. This access extends beyond just email, effectively compromising an individual’s Office 365 identity and all associated data and communication platforms. The threat is similar across platforms like Gmail or iCloud.
How did they do it?
2 Real-Life Examples:
Services Company
The Scenario: A services company lost over $300,000 to a Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack. The attackers used a doppelganger domain – and an email address that looked almost identical to a trusted source at the services company. Using information they gained from the successful BEC, the criminals sent an email that appeared to be from the services company to a known vendor. The email was a request to update the bank account details for an upcoming ACH payment. They tricked a vendor into updating ACH payment details and unknowingly sent money straight to the attacker’s account. The fraud wasn’t discovered until the payments didn’t show up, leading to confusion, disputes, and the involvement of cyber insurance.
The Tactic: The criminals use social engineering to slip into real email conversations often by compromising a legitimate account and wait for the perfect moment to strike. When a payment is due, they jump in with instructions to change where the payment is sent (invoice fraud), counting on the recipient’s trust in the sender and the urgency of the situation to avoid suspicion.
CEO Fraud (or Whaling)
The Scenario: A high-ranking executive, often the CEO or CFO, is impersonated. The scammer sends an urgent email to an employee in the finance department, requesting a large wire transfer for a confidential matter (e.g., an acquisition, a sensitive business deal, or a new vendor payment).
The scammer impersonates their CFO and convinces the accounts payable department to change bank account information on file for a construction project, redirecting payments to a fraudulent account.
The Tactic: This relies on the authority of the impersonated executive and a sense of urgency and confidentiality. Employees are less likely to question a direct order from a top executive, especially if told to keep it secret.
Are you a Target? YES!
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are prime targets for Business Email Compromise (BEC). In fact, they face 350% more social engineering attacks than larger companies. Why? Because SMBs often have fewer security tools and faster approval processes, making them easier to trick. And the threat is growing fast. Even more alarming: by mid-2024, 40% of phishing emails used in attacks were generated by AI making them more convincing than ever.
How Do I Fight these attacks?
BEC attempts are frequent, and detection often relies on clients or vendors noticing irregularities, such as suspicious email addresses, and reporting them. Some organizations have experienced multiple vendor-related BEC attempts involving spoofed emails requesting sensitive client information.
Some preventative measure to consider:
Security Awareness Training
Human error is often the weakest link. Regular training helps staff recognize phishing attempts, suspicious links, and social engineering tactics. Continuous training to make employees suspicious (not paranoid) and able to identify suspicious emails, scrutinize email addresses, links, and other indicators of compromise. And when something seems fishy, or wonky and just “off” then contact your IT Team to investigate. Worst case scenario is that it is nothing. KnowB4, Proofpoint, Huntress, and HoxHunt are all viable options to help.
Email Security Solutions
Deploy advanced email filtering tools: These solutions scan incoming emails for malicious links, attachments, and spoofing attempts. They help prevent phishing emails from ever reaching the inbox. It’s time to upgrade from your old school SPAM filters; they are not protecting you enough.
Strong Password Practices
- Use long passwords (12–16 characters): Longer passwords are significantly harder to crack using brute-force methods. Cybersecurity experts now recommend passphrases or complex combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols to enhance security.
- Avoid password reuse: Yes, it’s still happening. All. The. Time. Reusing the same password across accounts is like handing attackers a master key. If one login gets exposed, they can unlock everything else with ease.
- Use unique passwords for each account: This limits the damage in case one password is exposed. A password manager can help generate and store strong, unique passwords securely.
Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- Enable MFA wherever possible: MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of verification (like a code sent to your phone). While not foolproof, it significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
- Understand its limitations: MFA can be bypassed through sophisticated phishing attacks, but it still remains a critical barrier that deters most attackers.
Threat Detection and Automated Response
- Implement anomaly detection systems: Cloud-based threat detection tools are valuable for monitoring user behavior and identifying unusual activity, such as logins from unfamiliar locations or devices. Ideally, these tools should monitor account activities for anomalies like impossible travel events and be capable of automatically revoking MFA tokens and resetting passwords to prevent unauthorized access.
- Automate incident response: Quick action is crucial. Automated systems can isolate affected accounts, block malicious IPs, and alert security teams in real time, minimizing damage. It’s strongly advised to have an Incident Response Plan that’s not only developed but also regularly practiced.
Let’s Net It Out
BEC incidents are on the rise. As of March 2025, reports from sources, like Arctic Wolf, indicate an increase of around 30% in BEC attack volume compared to previous periods in 2025, with a 30% increase reported by March 2025. These attacks rank as the second most expensive breach type, with average losses of around $4.89 million per incident, highlighting the critical financial risk posed by BEC.
These tactics individually simple, become incredibly powerful when combined, making BEC a persistent and costly threat to businesses of all sizes. It’ powerful because It further enhances the illusion of legitimacy, making the email blend in with normal business communications.
