Email fraud accounts for $43B lost in past 5 years, FBI says

May 14, 2022

The FBI released an alert earlier this month that reported a 65% increase in financial losses tied to business email compromise fraud.

Statistics compiled in the agency’s report revealed 241,206 domestic and international incidents between June 2016 and December 2021, for an exposed loss of more than $43 billion. The exposed loss for U.S. victims of fraud was nearly $15 billion.

A business email compromise is a scam that targets companies and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests. Using malware, scammers can impersonate one of the people involved in the money transfers and direct funds to their own bank account.

Knowledge is the best protection against these scams, the Better Business Bureau advises. Clients with small businesses should be aware of these top scams. Businesses who believe they are the targets of cybercriminals should immediately report potential scams to the bureau.

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