Business email compromise (BEC)

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) describes BEC as a sophisticated scam that often relies on taking over legitimate email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion. IC3 counted about $55.5 billion in exposed losses worldwide from October 2013 through December 2023.

In freight factoring, BEC usually arrives as a payment change. An email from a client's real or spoofed address asks you to update its bank account. An email that appears to come from a factor tells brokers to send payments to a new account. Or a message posing as a debtor asks for invoice copies or statements to be sent somewhere new.

Never act on a bank change by email alone. Call back at a number you held before the request, confirm the account belongs to the carrier, and hold the next payment until it is verified. The remit-to change checklist sets out the full procedure.