Business Email Compromise (BEC) is one of the most prominent types of cybercrime in the world.
The FBI says that between June 2016 and June 2019, global losses from BEC crimes hit $26 billion.
But how exactly do you define this type of cybercrime?
Defining Business Email Compromise
We asked Stephen Dougherty, who is one of the U.S. Secret Service point people for BEC cases, for help in this case.
Here is how he defines Business Email Compromise:
"Business Email Compromise is a sophisticated fraud scheme targeting businesses that perform wire transfers as payments. The scam is carried out by compromising legitimate business email accounts through various hacking type schemes. Once compromised, a fraudulent email is sent directing victims to unknowingly conduct unauthorized transfers of funds."
How do Business Email Compromise attacks work?
We recently interviewed another member of the U.S. Secret Service team who also focuses on BEC investigations. If you'd like to know more about Business Email Compromise, how the attacks work, and the enterprise business model behind these attacks, listen here (or on your favorite podcast platform):
[RELATED: Catholic Church Sends $1.7 Million to Hackers in BEC Attack]
