Business Email Fraud Attacks Jump 25%

Cyber-criminals are sending more emails than ever before to defraud organizations, according to a new report, Protecting People, from Proofpoint.

The firm analyzed more than 600 million emails, revealing that the number of email fraud attacks per targeted company rose 25% from the previous quarter, and 85% from the same time last year.

Cybercriminals targeting companies often turn to Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams to steal funds, causing billions of dollars in fraud losses over the past few years, according to a Thursday report from Barracuda.

Criminals use BEC attacks to gain access to a business email account and pretend to be the account owner to defraud the company and its employees, customers, or partners, the report noted. Scammers typically target employees with access to company finances or payroll data, and other personally identifiable information (PII).