Recently corporations have been targeted by scammers posing as executives or employees in order to initiate unauthorized international wire transfers. The so-called “spoofers” simply create a valid sounding email domain name and con businesses into sending money. According to the FBI, “CEO fraud”, “spoofing” and “business email compromise” has taken nearly $750 million in comparable scams from nearly 7,000 companies in the U.S. between October 2013 and August 2015.
As your network solution provider, we want you to be aware of some warning signs and tips to prevent crooks from affecting your business’ bottom line;
- Employ a two-step authentication process for email—such as a follow up phone call or inquiry—to verify that transactions are legitimate.
- Using discretion in the information you and employees post on company websites and social media can help prevent an attack as scammers intentionally seek out personal information through these channels. Even executive travel information should be kept hidden as scammers often wait for employees to be out of office before attempting fraud.
- Be wary of the domain names your emails are coming from. The thieves use look-alike email domains that are usually one or two letters different than the executive’s true email which can sometimes go unnoticed.
- Email messages spoofed in this manner involve impersonating an identity with a separate, false identity and do not indicate that an employee’s mailbox account or password have been compromised.
If you feel concerned or threatened by a suspicious email, please don’t hesitate to contact our technical support team at 800.711.5557. When all else fails, use your best judgement; If something seems off, it usually is.
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