// CYBER THREAT
Business email compromise explained
BEC is one of the costliest scams for businesses — criminals impersonate a boss or supplier to redirect payments. Here’s how to spot and stop it.
- ● Plain English
- ● How to protect yourself
- ● Real help on call
/01 — WHAT IT IS
Know your enemy
Business email compromise (BEC) is when criminals impersonate a director, colleague or supplier — often by spoofing or hijacking an email account — to trick staff into paying a fake invoice or changing bank details.
It targets people, not just technology, so the defence combines security with a few simple business habits.
- ‘Urgent’ payment requests from the boss
- Last-minute supplier bank-detail changes
- Slightly altered email addresses
- Requests to bypass normal process
- Pressure and secrecy
- Replies that don’t quite sound right
/02 — HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
Stay one step ahead
Verify by phone
Always confirm payment or bank changes on a known number.
MFA on email
Stops most account takeovers cold.
Email security
Filtering and anti-spoofing flag impersonation.
Clear payment process
A simple two-person check stops fraud.
Staff awareness
Train the team to spot the tell-tale signs.
Microsoft 365 hardening
We lock down mailboxes and rules.
Our partner Malwarebytes Premium blocks threats like this in real time — prefer to protect your own device?
Affiliate link — we may earn a small commission if you buy through it, at no extra cost to you.
/03 — IF YOU’VE BEEN HIT
What to do right now
-
01
Stop the payment
Contact your bank immediately to try to recall funds.
-
02
Secure the mailbox
Reset passwords, enable MFA, remove rogue rules — we’ll help.
-
03
Review & harden
We investigate, tighten security and brief your team.
// NEED THIS FIXED RIGHT NOW?
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// MORE THREATS EXPLAINED
Know the other scams too
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
What is CEO fraud?
A type of BEC where a scammer impersonates a senior person to pressure staff into making an urgent payment or sharing details.
How do we prevent BEC?
MFA on email, anti-spoofing filtering, a verify-by-phone rule for payments, and staff awareness — all of which we set up.
We’ve paid a fake invoice — what now?
Call your bank immediately to attempt recall, then contact us to secure the mailbox and investigate.
Worried about business email compromise?
We protect Dorset homes and businesses from threats like this every day — with layered security, Malwarebytes Premium and a real person to ask.
01202 775566 · help@365techies.co.uk · MON–FRI 9AM–5PM