“Business Email Compromise Scam” becoming an issue due to COVID-19

DEM Blogger

April 10, 2020

A woman working for an insurance firm here in Lexington, Kentucky was almost scammed by someone pretending to be her boss and asking her to spend $800 on Google Play cards.

The woman said the person emailing her had her bosses name in the contact, and she was also personally addressed by name.  Once she emailed her “boss” her number, the scammer immediately texted her and requested she spend her money on gift cards, scratch off the backs so that the code was visible, and send them pictures of the cards.

“This con is known as the Business Email Compromise (BEC) scam,” said Heather Clary, BBB Director of Communications.  “A scammer poses as a reliable source who emails from a spoofed or hacked account to an employee, asking him or her to wire funds or buy gift cards. With so many people working remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be easy for an employee to fall for this scam.”

Due to increased frequency in scamming attempts, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is asking businesses to have policies in place that have requests for financial information verified first.

The BBB also would like phone numbers to be used as confirmation.  If numbers are not on file, do not follow the request.  if you are emailed, call the number that is on file to contact that person.

Don’t let your business or someone who works for you be next in a BEC scam attempt.  BBB State of Cyber Security is a free source and helps to make sure your business is secure.  Take a stand against scamming and protect your business and staff.

If you or a loved one would like to report scams to the BBB scam tracker, here is a link: www.bbb.org/scamtracker.

For more scam warnings that revolve around COVID-19, you can visit:  www.bbb.org/coronavirus.