Your company's controller receives an email instruction from
your CEO to wire funds to complete a time-sensitive and
confidential deal–seems like a clear directive to execute,
but it's not. It's an increasingly common scam known as the
"Business E-mail Compromise" (BEC).
In a BEC scam,
as we previously described, fraudsters send spoofed e-mail to
trick employees into making unauthorized transfers of funds,
generally through wire transfers. The employee, usually a
controller or other individual responsible for wiring money,
receives an e-mail which appears to be from a high-level company
executive, company lawyer or advisor, or even a trusted
long-standing supplier or vendor. The e-mail pressures the employee
to transfer company funds to a bank account, often offshore,
urgently and secretly. The scammers may attempt to add credibility
by sending the targeted employee spoofed e-mails from multiple
trusted accounts or by plying the employee with
