Business email compromise (BEC) remains one of the most financially devastating cyber threats facing organizations. This sophisticated form of email spoofing targets businesses by impersonating executives, employees, or trusted partners to trick recipients into transferring funds, revealing sensitive data, or fulfilling fraudulent orders.
According to a joint Cybersecurity Advisory from the FBI, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations, and USDA, BEC continues to top the list of cyber-enabled crimes causing significant financial losses. In fact, a recent 2025 industry survey shows that 29% of CISOs identify BEC and phishing as the most dangerous threats to their organizations. While the primary motive is often financial theft, BEC attacks are increasingly being used to undermine supply chains, manipulate transactions, and damage corporate reputations. Attackers may exploit spoofed identities to place fraudulent orders, then resell the goods with little regard for quality or compliance — posing health and safety risks and leaving the targeted company to face the fallout.
BEC Tactics, Techniques, & Procedures
BEC attacks are increasingly sophisticated and often hard to detect. Cybercriminals use a range of tactics designed to fool even vigilant employees. The core strategy is impersonation: attackers craft emails and spoof domains that closely mimic legitimate companies, often changing just a single character, swapping letters for lookalikes (like “rn” for “m”), or using a different top-level domain. These subtle manipulations are easy to miss unless someone is trained to spot them.
In more advanced scenarios, attackers gain access to real business email accounts — either through phishing or credential theft — and use them to send convincing messages from trusted sources. This is especially dangerous in so-called “CEO fraud,” where criminals pose as senior executives to manipulate employees into wiring funds, sharing credentials, or approving unauthorized purchases.
These tactics are increasingly being used to steal physical goods, not just money. In the food and agriculture sector, BEC attacks have targeted suppliers with fake purchase orders and delivery requests, leaving businesses with unpaid invoices and lost product. A recent federal advisory highlights incidents in which cybercriminals posed as well-known companies to fraudulently obtain large shipments of food products, some of which were intercepted in time, while others resulted in losses exceeding hundreds of thousands of dollars.
How to Protect Against BEC Schemes
Defending against BEC requires a layered, proactive approach as there’s no single solution. However, several key practices, outlined in recent federal guidance, can significantly reduce your risk:
Invest in continuous employee training: Regular, up-to-date training is one of the most effective ways to prevent BEC attacks. Employees must be taught how to identify suspicious emails, spoofed domains, and social engineering tactics. Human risk management programs should evolve alongside new threats and include phishing simulations and real-world scenarios.
Foster a culture of verification: Encourage employees to question unusual requests, especially those involving changes to payment instructions, invoice details, or contact information. Reinforce the importance of pausing to verify any unexpected or urgent communication, even if it appears to come from a trusted source.
Monitor your digital footprint: Proactively search for fraudulent use of your organization's name across websites, social media, and business directories. Identifying fake accounts or domains early can prevent reputational damage and unauthorized transactions.
Deploy technical safeguards: Strengthen email security by implementing domain-based message authentication (e.g., DMARC, SPF, DKIM) and enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all user accounts, especially those with financial or administrative access. Keep endpoint protection and device policies up to date.
Watch for warning signs: Sudden urgency, changes in communication tone, last-minute banking updates, or requests that bypass usual procedures are all red flags. Employees should feel empowered—and expected—to escalate anything that seems suspicious.
Monitor financial activity: Routinely audit payment records and financial accounts for inconsistencies. Early detection of unauthorized transfers or unusual vendor behavior can help stop an attack before it escalates.
Ultimately, because BEC is built on deception, your best defense is vigilance. Empower your team to recognize the signs, verify before acting, and understand that every employee plays a vital role in protecting the organization’s assets, reputation, and customers.