Attacks on Business Email Accounts Are on the Rise

Email is a vital part of running a business, but like most useful tools, it comes with risks. The biggest threat right now? Business Email Compromise (BEC).

If you’ve never heard of BEC, here’s a simple breakdown.

What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)?

It’s a scam where criminals pretend to be someone important in your business – for example CEOs, senior managers, or IT staff. They use this fake identity to trick your employees into:

• Sharing sensitive information (like passwords)
• Transferring money (to the scammer’s account)

It’s surprisingly easy for scammers to do. If an email looks like it’s from the boss and says, “Quickly send payment to this account,” many people won’t think twice.

Research shows that almost 90% of BEC attacks work like this – pretending to be someone in authority.

Why Are BEC Attacks a Big Deal?

Because they’re happening more than ever.

Recent research looked at 1.8 billion emails from around the world. Out of these, 208 million were malicious – and more than half of them were BEC attacks.

That makes BEC the number one email threat to businesses right now.

Even more worrying, scammers often target junior employees. They’re less likely to question instructions from senior staff, especially if the message looks urgent.

What About Other Types of Email Attacks?

While BEC scams are grabbing headlines, other email-based threats are still a problem.

These include:

• Phishing – tricking people into sharing personal details (like login info)
• Spam – unwanted commercial emails that can also carry malware

In fact, the combination of phishing, spam, and BEC scams now outweighs traditional ransomware and malware attacks.

How to Protect Your Business from BEC Attacks

But protecting your business doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.

1️⃣ Train your team – Make sure everyone knows how to spot suspicious emails. 2️⃣ Pause before you act – If an email asks for sensitive info or a payment, always double-check – even if it looks like it’s from someone you know. 3️⃣ Get expert support – If you’re unsure how secure your business email is, get help.

A little bit of caution can save you a lot of hassle (and money).

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