Understand the Phases of a Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attack

BEC attacks are widespread as they stole $26 billion dollars in three years by attackers simply asking victims for money.

BEC scams make victims think they’re talking to authority figures to steal their valuables with methods, like fraudulent wiring instructions.

BEC emails are hard to recognize and block. To avoid being a victim, let Guardian Digital educate you on how a BEC attack works.

Watch: Anatomy of a BEC Attack

Anatomy of a BEC Attack

Phase 1: Preparation

Attackers scour business contact databases, social media profiles and corporate websites to build a target list.

Malicious actors learn about key people and their relationships to leverage authority and trust to get victims to interact with fraudulent emails.

Phase 2: Execution

Cybercriminals launch stealthy BEC campaigns targeting the victims they’ve identified in their target list.

Threat actors use impersonation tactics, like spoofing to change their names to those mimicked, so that victims interact with fraudulent emails.

Phase 3: Deception

Attackers trick victims into taking immediate action with social engineering techniques by impersonating an individual of authority.

Threat actors could convince a finance worker to transfer money, or they could urgently request a victim to pay fees due to a vendor.

Phase 4: Action

The victim is convinced to proceed with the malicious email’s request, leading to a data breach of financial loss for the target organization.

How Can I Secure Business Email Against BEC Attacks?

Our email security solution finds and intercepts BEC threats, mitigates risk and provides your organization with peace of mind.

Guardian Digital EnGarde Cloud Email Security’s technology proactively learns and distributes defenses for specific threats targeting you.

Want to see EnGarde in action? Get a Live Demo>>

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