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Businesses should be aware that they are the prime target
for online scammers.
In August of 2019 the
FBI arrested 14 suspects on a 252-count federal grand
jury indictment. Eighty(80)
defendants were charged with defrauding victims of up to $10
million.
Scammers used compromised email accounts to convince
businesses and individuals to make payments that were either
bogus or were similar to legitimate payments the company
would make.
In 2019 the FBI received nearly 14,000 complaints reporting
Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams with losses totaling
around $1.1 billion.
This was similar to the losses seen in 2018.
According to the FBI scammers are effective because they
learn about key personnel in companies who are responsible
for the payments as well as the protocols necessary to
perform wire transfers in various companies and then target
businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments.
Entrepreneurs should be aware of this kind of fraud and take
steps to protect their businesses.
Monitor what you pay for and when and to whom payment
is due. Limit
the number of individuals who are authorized to make
payments on the company’s behalf.
Don’t make rush payments.
Investigate when payment information changes (such as
new bank account to wire payments to.).
Be aware that
other entrepreneurs can pose a threat as well.
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