Better Business Bureau Says Email Compromise Scam Can Happen to Anyone

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran told PEOPLE magazine that she was scammed out of nearly $400,000. The Better Business Bureau reports that, sadly, she is not alone. Business email compromise scams have cost business owners and other organizations more than $3 billion since 2016.

Business email compromise fraud is an email phishing scam that typically targets people who pay bills in businesses, government, and nonprofit organizations. It affects both big and small organizations, and it has resulted in more losses than any other type of fraud in the U.S., according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

Last fall, BBB did an in-depth investigative study on the prevalence of BEC scams and the scope of the problem, who is behind it, and what can be done to stop it. BBB urges businesses and other organizations to take technical precautions such as multifactor authentication for email logins and other changes in email settings, along with verifying changes in information about customers, employees or vendors.

The report also urges culture and training changes in organizations – namely, confirming requests by phone before acting and training all employees in internet security.

Read more about the scam on BBB.org and learn what to do if your organization has lost money.

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on nearly 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

SOURCE Better Business Bureau