Learn about business email compromise - Video Transcript

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[00:00:01 – 00:00:14] Cyber-attacks are on the rise. Criminals want to steal your money and information and are successfully doing so, through one of the newest emerging threats, Business Email Compromise.

[00:00:16 – 00:00:24] Businesses can lose huge sums of money because of one bogus email. The FBI reports hundreds of millions of dollars are lost each year in the US.

[00:00:25 – 00:00:34] In the last few years there has been a 2,300 percent increase in identified exposed losses, now totaling over $5 billion.

[00:00:35 – 00:00:37] Let’s see how the scam works.

[00:00:38 – 00:01:01] Fraudsters will email a company's payments team, impersonating a trusted source, for example the CEO giving instructions for a payment to be made. The email address will appear to closely match the CEO’s or the CEO’s email account may have been hacked The payment team may think the instruction came from the CEO and act on it. Resulting in a fraudulent payment.

[00:01:02 – 00:01:08] Business Email Compromise is a real threat and can cause Significant Financial Loss and Reputational Damage

[00:01:09 – 00:01:13] Now let’s see how you can protect yourself and your business.

[00:01:14 – 00:01:18] Carefully scrutinise all emailed payment instructions to ensure that they are from the right person

[00:01:19 – 00:01:25] Verify payment requests and changes to account details using known contact details

[00:01:26 – 0:01:35] Establish other communication channels, such as phone calls to verify significant transactions and avoid interception from a hacker.

[00:01:37 – 00:01:41] Consider using digital signatures for all electronic communication related to payments.

[00:01:42 – 00:01:53] Look out for unusual changes in business practices, for example, getting a request from someone who is not normally involved in the payment process or a vendor asking for an account number to be changed.

[00:01:54 – 00:02:10] Educate yourself, your staff and your peers. What seems legitimate at first glance may be fraud. Be aware and protect yourself. You can visit our Security page for more information about online protection.