First published: 23 Sep 2021
Last updated: 11 Feb 2023

Content written for

Small & medium business

What is business email compromise?

Business email compromise (BEC) is a form of targeted phishing, or spear phishing. Criminals target organisations and try to scam them out of money or goods. They also target employees and try and trick them into revealing important business information.   

Criminals use emails to pretend to be business representatives. They also use the compromised email accounts of employees.

Maybe a friend, colleague, or service provider has received a suspicious email from ‘you’, but you didn’t send it. The email may request payment for an invoice or ask to change bank account details.

Alternatively, maybe you noticed you are receiving unusual emails in your own email account. They may be about suspicious login activity or unexpected password resets. You might have also noticed emails have been deleted or moved to different folders.

These could be indicators of BEC.

Learn more and get help

Was this information helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Optional

Tell us why this information was helpful and we’ll work on making more pages like it