Increase in business fraud attempts during the pandemic

CIBC knows spotting fraudulent activity isn’t always easy. That’s why our team prioritizes cyber security, which is what we did when a relationship manager received multiple emails from a commercial client’s legitimate email address requesting a wire transfer of nearly $200,000 to another bank. On the same day, they also received a voicemail from someone claiming to be the client who was following up on the wire request. The phone number belonged to our client, but was not the primary number we had on file. 

The urgency around the request was suspicious, so our relationship manager called our client using the verified phone number we had listed on his account and he confirmed the request was fraudulent. His email address and phone number had been spoofed, meaning the fraudster disguised their own phone number and email with the client’s legitimate information. Because our team member followed our fraud prevention protocols, no money was lost.

With many employees still working remotely due to the pandemic, there has been an increase in Business Email Compromise (BEC) attempts. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, the average losses in 2020 rose from $54,000 in Q1 to $80,143 in Q2. In a BEC scheme, fraudsters will send an email that appears to be coming from management or a vendor, requesting that the employee initiate a payment via wire or ACH.

What to look out for in a BEC fraud email: 

• The payment information, including bank name, routing number or account number, differs from prior requests.
  
• The email is marked as urgent or sensitive.
• The email address closely mirrors the email address it is impersonating. 
• Email contains instructions to call a telephone number that differs from the number used in previous requests.

It’s important to establish a process for validating payment requests that includes contacting a trusted telephone number to verify its authenticity. Ensure malware and virus protection technology is current and conduct fraud and information security awareness training annually. 

If you believe that your company has fallen victim to a BEC scheme, time is of the essence when attempting to recover funds. Immediately contact your financial institution and consider filing a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Escalate within your organization and contact the party that was impersonated. Depending on the circumstances, the Federal Bureau of Investigation can attempt to recover funds after a complaint is filed with IC3.

CIBC digital fraud controls

CIBC works hard to protect the safety and security of our client accounts. While we are vigilant in monitoring for suspicious activity, there are things you can do to protect yourself as well:

Fraud monitoring 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

We track out-of-state and international transactions, suspicious activities, changes in contact information and more. 

Account alerts 

Choose from a variety of account alerts that can be sent right to your phone so you'll always be in the know. Make sure your contact information is up-to-date, or set up alerts via CIBC Business NetBanking Opens in a new window..

Trusteer Rapport 

Trusteer Rapport is an online banking security software offered free to CIBC clients. It helps to safeguard your online banking identity, and stop malicious attempts against you. Download Trusteer Rapport.

For more information on how we're working to protect you, visit our Fraud Prevention page.