What Is Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

Business Email Compromise (BEC) is one of the most expensive email threats a company can face - and it rarely involves any malware. It's pure deception. Here's how it works and how to defend against it.

What BEC is

In a BEC attack, a scammer impersonates someone the victim trusts - a manager, a supplier, a client - and uses that false authority to request a payment, a change of bank details, or sensitive information. Because there's no obvious virus, filters and antivirus often don't catch it.

Common BEC scenarios

• CEO fraud - a fake email "from the boss" urgently asking finance to wire money
• Fake invoice / supplier swap - a supplier's emails are spoofed with "updated" bank details, see what is email spoofing and how to prevent it
• Account takeover - a real mailbox is compromised and used to redirect a genuine payment
• Payroll diversion - a request to change an employee's salary account

Why it works

BEC relies on urgency, authority and routine - a plausible request, from a trusted name, that looks like normal business. See the warning signs in how to spot a phishing email.

How to defend against BEC

1. Authenticate your domain - SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop attackers sending as you, see SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained
2. Enforce two-factor authentication so a stolen password isn't enough, see two-factor authentication for business email
3. Verify money and bank-detail changes out of band - always confirm by phone, never by reply
4. Train the team - most BEC is caught by a person who pauses, see business email security checklist
5. Watch for account takeover - unusual logins and forwarding rules, see onboard and offboard employee email securely

Make impersonation hard

The foundation is email that can't be easily spoofed and accounts that can't be easily hijacked. DigiCloudMail provides enforced authentication, 2FA and account monitoring to shut down the openings BEC relies on.

Worried about invoice fraud? Contact us and we'll harden your email.