When the CEO’s Email Is Faked: How Business Email Compromise (BEC) Attacks Work — and How to Stop Them

Imagine getting an email one morning that appears to be from your CEO, saying “Hey, I need you to pay this vendor immediately — I put it through already.” The wire goes out. Later, you find out the CEO never sent it — your accounting team was tricked by a business email compromise (BEC) scam.

This kind of attack is among the most dangerous because it leverages trust, urgency, and social engineering — not technical wizardry. Even the savviest business owner can fall for it if an employee is tired or distracted.,

What Is BEC / Phishing?

• Phishing broadly refers to fraudsters sending emails (sometimes texts or calls) designed to trick you into clicking links, downloading attachments, or giving up login info.

• Business Email Compromise (BEC) is a refined subset: attackers impersonate legitimate parties (boss, vendor, partner) to trick staff into acting (e.g. wiring money, altering invoices).

• These scams often use spoofed email addresses, lookalike domains (e.g. “@digitaharborit.com” vs “@digitalharborit.com”), or compromised accounts.

Even large enterprises fall prey — but for small businesses, the cost can be devastating.

Why BEC Scams Work (Especially in Small Businesses)

• They exploit human trust and urgency — the employee “just follows instructions.”

• Many businesses use standard communication patterns (boss → admin → finance), which the attacker mimics.

• Weak or no multi-factor authentication means once credentials are stolen, the scammer is in.

• Small IT budgets often leave email protections, anti-spoofing, and monitoring weak or absent.

How to Prevent BEC / Phishing Scams

Here’s a practical checklist you can act on now:

Action	Benefit
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all email and business accounts	Even if credentials are stolen, MFA blocks access
Implement email authentication protocols — SPF, DKIM, DMARC	Prevents spoofed senders from faking your domain
Use anti-phishing filters and email security tools	These detect malicious links and warn users
Train staff regularly (simulations, awareness)	People are your human firewall
Establish a wire transfer protocol (e.g. “call confirmation for large wires”)	Adds a human checkpoint before funds go out
Monitor your domain’s email reputation / lookalike domains	To detect typos or impersonators early
Limit who can send “urgent” or “vendor payment” emails	Restrict high-risk permissions to fewer staff

What If You’ve Already Been Hit?

1. Immediately report to your bank and attempt to freeze or recover funds.

2. Notify your IT provider / MSP to check for account compromise.

3. Change passwords, revoke sessions, ensure MFA is active.

4. Learn from it — run a postmortem, tighten protocols, retrain staff.

Digital Harbor IT Solutions Can Help!

As your trusted local IT partner, DigitalHarbor IT Solutions offers a BEC assessment for businesses in Barrington and East Bay. We can simulate phishing attacks for your team, harden email security, and establish your wire protocols so you never fall victim to a scammer by mistake. Reach out for a free consultation.

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