Scammers are not slowing down in 2023. They will likely take what they have learned in past years and continue to evolve their attempts to gain financially at your expense.
Changes in the economy often result in an uptick in scams and the number of people financially affected by them. Federal Trade Commission data shows that consumers reported losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud in 2021, an increase of more than 70% over the previous year. Within the cyber fraud category, increasingly common types of scams include student loan fraud, debit and credit card fraud, Business Email Compromise (BEC) and employment scams. Stay informed on these emerging business and consumer fraud trends to ensure you are doing what you can to protect you and your business:
Business Email Compromise
Due to an increase in remote workers, this scam has become quite common. For example, business owners may receive an email appearing to be from one of your vendors or your company CEO asking about a payment that is due. They may provide you with a Venmo or Zelle account or a new bank account number to replace the legitimate payment information you have on file.
The scammer may have a similar email address, maybe one letter is different from the vendor’s or with an added dash or period. In some cases, the scammer could have even duplicated the vendor’s email address. Once a wire transfer is sent, the likelihood of getting any funds back is very small.
BEC takes advantage of workers who are…
