Ransomware gangs targeting businesses are currently getting more public attention, but scammers trying to trick employees into performing fraudulent wire transfers are once again ramping up their efforts, US-headquartered law firm BakerHostetler has warned.
BEC scams and fraudulent wire transfers
The same tactics have been employed by BEC scammers for years, but businesses of all sizes continue to fall for them.
The scam is usually discovered when the accounting department of a company starts seeing an increase in accounts receivable for one or more customers, then follows up on the outstanding invoices.
The customer reports that they have already paid the invoices and provides proof of the wire transfer, but the document shows that the money transfer was made to the worn bank account. The customer says they’ve followed the accounting department’s instructions, after receiving an email with “new” wire instructions from them.
“The email, of course, is not from the accounting department but from a fraudster,” the lawyers explained.
“Sometimes the bad actor compromised an accounting department employee’s email account to find customers, steal invoices and gain an understanding of the cadence and manner of billing emails. Sometimes the bad actor compromised the customer’s email account for the same purpose and then used an email that looked enough like the vendor’s accounting department email address to trick the customer. But whatever the method of access and communication, the two entities share the same outcome: Money has been paid to bad actors, and it is highly unlikely that it will be recouped, even with law enforcement inte ..
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