Blog Post

In today’s digital world, cyber-crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and businesses are at risk of falling prey to email scams. These scams can cause significant financial and reputation damage, so it’s crucial to be able to identify and avoid them. In this blog post, we will discuss how to recognise a business email compromise scam and ways to protect your business.

1. 1. Business Executive Scam: The Business Executive Scam involves a fraudster impersonating a senior executive within a company to convince an employee to transfer money. The email may appear to come from the CEO, CFO or another high-ranking executive, asking for a large transfer of funds for an urgent business need. The email may use urgent language, demand secrecy or pressure the recipient to act quickly.</br>

       

   2. The Bogus Invoice: The Bogus Invoice scam involves an email that appears to be a legitimate invoice from a supplier or vendor. The email may contain realistic-looking branding, logos and details, and ask for payment to be made immediately. Fraudsters often use this scam to target accounting or finance departments, who may not be familiar with the supplier or the invoice.

1. 1. Compromised Employee Account: In this scam, a fraudster gains access to an employee’s email account and sends emails from their account to colleagues or business partners, often asking for payments or confidential information. These emails may appear to be genuine and can be challenging to spot.

1. 1. Spelling Errors and Malicious Attachments: Emails that contain spelling errors, poor grammar, or unusual formatting can be a sign of a scam. Malicious attachments can also be included in these emails, often disguised as legitimate documents. Opening these attachments can infect your computer with malware or ransomware, which can be costly and time-consuming to resolve.

1. The “Too Good to Be True” Email: If an email seems too good to be true, it probably is. Scams that offer unrealistic financial rewards or promise something for nothing should be treated with caution. These emails often ask for personal information or payment upfront, and are a common tactic used by fraudsters to steal money or data.

Recent email Attacks in the News for large corporation In recent years, there have been numerous high-profile email scams that have affected large corporations. For example, in 2016, a scam involving a fraudulent email from a supplier led to the theft of $100 million from Google and Facebook. In 2020, Twitter was hacked in a social engineering scam that saw high-profile accounts compromised and used to promote a Bitcoin scam.

How Can You Protect Your Business? There are several steps you can take to protect your business from email scams:

1. 1. Educate your employees: Train your employees on how to identify email scams and what to do if they receive one.

1. 1. Implement email authentication protocols: Implement email authentication protocols such as DMARC, DKIM and SPF to prevent spoofed emails.

1. 1. Verify payment requests: Always verify payment requests with the supplier or vendor via a trusted communication channel, such as a phone call or in-person meeting.

1. 1. Use anti-virus software: Use anti-virus software to protect your computer systems from malware and other cyber threats.

1. 1. Monitor your accounts: Monitor your accounts regularly for any unusual activity, and report any suspected scams immediately to your bank or law enforcement agency.

In conclusion, email scams are a growing threat to businesses, but with the right precautions and awareness, they can be avoided. By educating your employees, implementing email authentication protocols, and verifying payment requests, you can protect your business from financial and reputation damage. Remember, if an email seems too good to be true, it probably is.

By reducing the risk, complexity, and cost traditionally associated with protecting email, you no longer have to manage an array of disjointed point solutions from multiple vendors. Reach out for a free consultation today.