Email Attacks on eCommerce - Prevention and Best Practices.

Email security strategies for eCommerce blog visual

: by MaK Ulac; Apr. 16, 2026

(Reading time: 4 - 7 minutes)

Cybercriminals can bring huge losses to eCommerce business owners by stealing their sensitive information through Business Email Compromise (BEC). They can attack eCommerce stores via malware, phishing, or other methods. Using innovative techniques, they take over the email of admin or business owners, and then hack the entire system. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach is $4.4 M. Attackers can manipulate the orders and even compromise customer data. Such breaches can negatively impact a company’s reputation and erode customer trust.

Once the cybercriminals get access to an email account, they try to send emails to the contact list asking for money. The attacker may request the recipients’ employees, customers, and partners for payments.

How Does Business Email Compromise (BEC) Work?

Before attacking an eCommerce business's email, attackers plan the strategy. They conduct research to decide which business email to target. They choose businesses or organizations that are large and financially sound and regularly handle a lot of high-value transactions. After finalizing the organization, they search the internet for the available company information. They find their employees and vendors, check the invoice dates, and payment due dates. They also search for the high-level employees who can request payments from vendors. They may target HR and finance teams.

Hackers try to get access to email accounts from which they send the attack email. They may use a hacked or impersonated email address for the attack. They can also purchase a look-alike domain name and use it to send attack emails. The hackers ask for sensitive business information or money transfers. They may also mention time-sensitive implications such as fines, deal losses, or partnership terminations to create a sense of urgency. Sometimes, they choose email recipients who are new to the organization, as they may not be familiar with the processes.

How to Prevent Business Email Compromise (BEC)

Business owners should follow eCommerce cybersecurity practices to prevent BEC. We have listed some of the best ways to avoid BEC:

Turn On Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) can help to increase the security of an email account. With MFA, you would require 2 or more steps to verify your identity so that you can log in. For example, you can use your account login details along with the authentication code sent to your registered mobile number. This makes it difficult for the cybercriminals to access your files or account. Incorporate MFA for all your employees and administrative logins.

Enforce DMARC Authentication

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is a security protocol that blocks attackers from sending spam emails in your domain’s name. You should implement and enforce it to gain the maximum benefit from it. DMARC compliance keeps your domain safe from cybercrooks who may attempt to send emails impersonating you. If it is not enabled, cybercriminals can trick recipients into opening spam messages. You can protect your domain from phishing and spoofing with DMARC compliance.

No one wants their emails to end up in the spam folder. Some email providers have already made DMARC compliance mandatory. If your emails are compliant with DMARC, they will reach the recipient’s inbox rather than being blocked or flagged as spam. This results in improved email deliverability for mass mailing. It is important to configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication checks for your organization members. You should train your company’s employees to check if the email passes all of the authentication checks.

Enhance the Security of VIP Accounts

While it is important to secure all accounts of employees, you should pay special attention to the security of high-profile accounts, such as CEOs, CFOs, and other VIP accounts. When you have advanced security measures in place, hackers would not be able to bypass the defenses you have set up. You can also add display name spoofing protection for these accounts, which can help to prevent your employees from falling prey to emails impersonating these high-profile employees.

Conduct Employee Training

It is important to conduct training for the employees and explain to them all aspects of security controls and email security measures. When a new employee joins your company, you can conduct a training session for them. As cybercriminals target new joiners who don’t have a proper understanding of the workings and security practices the company follows, you should focus on conducting training as soon as the employee joins your organization.

Hire Professionals for Penetration Testing

You may have spent hours building cybersecurity on your website, but it becomes useless if you don’t test it properly. You can hire professionals for penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in your system. If you are planning DIY for penetration testing, then you should know that tutorials or professional tools may not be enough. You need to hire white-hat hackers and cybersecurity specialists to use advanced security solutions to conduct penetration testing.

Select a Secure Web Host

You should pay special attention to the hosting of your website. While selecting the hosting provider, you need to check the security solutions they offer. It is important to ask about data center security. Have a look at their reputation and choose the right web host for your website.

Understand Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)

eCommerce cybersecurity involves credit card information, and protecting the users’ confidential information becomes important. PCI-DSS for eCommerce requires adhering to 12 security requirements to protect customer payment information. Non-compliance may result in higher transaction fees, massive fines, or loss of processing ability.

The Role of AI and Machine Learning in Preventing BEC

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help to combat BEC. These technologies can enhance a company’s ability to detect and prevent BEC attacks. AI-powered email filtering systems can be used to detect phishing and BEC attempts in real-time. AI-based systems learn from past incidents of suspicious behavior and prevent attacks.

AI and ML help organizations analyze behavioral patterns of the employees, and they raise a red flag when an email deviates from the norm. These systems can spot the inconsistency and trigger an alert.

Final Thoughts on Preventing Email Attacks in eCommerce

Staying ahead in this space isn’t about one fix. You harden what’s already in place, keep an eye on where attacks are drifting, and adjust before they land. BEC isn’t static anymore. The tactics shift quietly, which means employee training can’t be a one-off exercise. It has to track those small changes in how impersonation and payment fraud actually show up in inboxes.

Email auth helps, but only if it’s configured right and monitored, not just turned on and forgotten. DMARC, SPF, and DKIM all reduce noise; they don’t eliminate risk. Attackers still find gaps, usually through people, not protocols, and that’s where most of the damage starts to build up over time.

AI tools are getting pushed as the answer. They help, especially on detection and triage, but they’re not clean or perfect, and they miss things under pressure. Still, for eCommerce teams dealing with constant transaction flow, they add a layer that manual review just can’t keep up with, especially when BEC campaigns start blending in with normal business traffic.