KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Following a recent study into email scams, the West Michigan Better Business Bureau is warning citizens of a rise in fraudulent emails known as “BEC’s,” or Business Email Compromise scams.
Troy Baker of the BBB says that this type of scam is one of the most harmful for businesses.
“When businesses report losses to the FBI, the biggest financial loss of any fraud report to the FBI is these Business Email Compromises,” Baker said. “Since 2016, $3.1 billion [have been] lost.”
Baker cited a recent scam of a non-profit CEO in the Battle Creek area as one example of these scam emails.
“Her HR person got an email that looked like it came from the CEO saying that she had changed her direct deposit information,” Baker said. “The HR Person returned the email and sent the form. When payday came, the CEO’s paycheck ended up in a bank in California with scammers instead of in her own bank.”
These emails can be in many forms, but are often disguised as messages from coworkers.
“There’s the emails that look like they’re from your coworker asking you to go to things,” Baker said. “We’ve heard from paychecks to, ‘Hey, go buy these gift cards, we’re gonna do something for the office,’ and then it didn’t happen. That’s not what it was there for.”
These scams can also affect people in the field of real estate.
“People are sending people who are buying houses fake emails and getting them to make large financial payments,” Baker said. “You think it’s going to the bank to buy this new house, and instead it’s going to scammers.”
Another type of BEC scam known as “vendor fraud” is effective because of how simple it is are.
“Businesses are seeing this all the time, it’s the simplest form of scam you could think of,” Baker said. “They simply send you a bill and hope that you pay it by mistake, and it works.”
The BBB advises businesses to remain vigilant in identifying suspicious emails that could be scams.
Businesses who may have been victims of a scam are advised to contact the BBB and other related agencies right away.
“Let us help get the word out, we can do some research to see if we can help backtrack it,” Baker said. “The FBI’s internet crime complaint center and the Federal Trade Commission are all places you need to go.”
All suspicious business activity can be reported to the BBB at www.bbb.org.
