Swiftoxwealth Ltd – Bank Officer Fraud

What is Bank Officer fraud?

Bank Officer fraud, also known as Business Email Compromise (BEC), is a type of fraud that is enabled via social engineering. Social engineering is the manipulation of situations and people that results in the targeted individuals divulging confidential information. Fraudsters pretend to be a Bank Officer in order to persuade a staff member to make a payment.

How does Bank Officer fraud happen?

Bank Officer fraud is a request, often made via email, purporting to come from a senior person in the company, normally to the accounts department, requesting an urgent payment to a supplier or partner.

The fraud attempt sometimes occurs when the senior person is out of the office, and the request may outline that the transaction is confidential and sensitive in order to discourage further verification.

For instance, the fraudster may try to convince the victim that their company is about to acquire another business, and the payment is needed as a down-payment for the confidential deal.