Busey Bank | Protecting Your Business from Business Email Compromise

According to the 2025 AFP Payments Fraud and Control Survey Report, 63% of organizations were impacted by business email compromise (BEC) in 2024—making it the most common type of payments fraud reported in that year. This statistic underscores the increasingly sophisticated tactics cybercriminals use to exploit busy workplaces, pressure-filled payment environments and the trust that keeps business operations moving.

What is Business Email Compromise?

BEC is a targeted scam in which fraudsters impersonate a trusted individual—such as a company executive, employee, vendor, client or bank employee—to manipulate a business into sending funds or sharing sensitive information. Unlike broad phishing attempts, BEC is highly strategic. Fraudsters study their targets, understand approval workflows and craft messages that appear authentic.

According to the AFP report, the most common forms of BEC fraud in 2024 were:

1. Email spoofing. Criminals forge the “from” address to look like a legitimate email, often with only a small alteration that goes unnoticed during a busy workday.
2. Domain lookalikes. Fraudsters register domains nearly identical to a company’s real domain, swapping similar looking-characters or inserting subtle punctuation.
3. Email account takeover. Through phishing or credential theft, criminals gain access to a real email account and send fraudulent messages from within the organization, making detection significantly more difficult.

Account takeover (ATO) schemes have become increasingly common. In fact, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center received more than 5,100 complaints reporting ATO fraud in 2025, with losses exceeding $262 million. These scams involve fraudsters impersonating bank employees—by email or phone—claiming they’ve detected fraud and need login credentials to reverse any “fraudulent” transactions.

This tactic aims to capture online banking access in order to initiate unauthorized payments. If you or your employees receive a request like this, never share your credentials and contact your bank directly through a known, trusted phone number.

How does BEC lead to financial loss?

BEC schemes focus on payment channels that move money quickly and are difficult to reverse. In 2024, the AFP report found that the most common payment methods used in successful BEC scams were wire transfers, ACH credits and checks.

• Wire transfers are fast and final, making them a preferred target. Fraudsters often create a sense of urgency by using terms such as “late payment,” “changed account number” or “executive request” in order to bypass normal approval processes.
• ACH credits are increasingly targeted as businesses shift to electronic payments. Criminals may request changes to vendor payment instructions or payroll direct deposits.
• Checks, while traditional, are still vulnerable. Fraudsters may manipulate accounts payable staff through spoofed emails instructing them to issue or reroute a check.

With tight operational schedules and high transaction volumes, even a single moment of distraction can lead to significant financial loss.

Why is BEC so prevalent?

BEC remains a widespread phenomenon because it exploits human behavior rather than technological vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals understand that employees want to be helpful, responsive and efficient—and they craft their schemes to intentionally take advantage of those tendencies.

Other contributing factors include:

• Increased hybrid and remote work, which makes it harder to verify requests face-to-face.
• Publicly available information, such as organizational charts, vendor listings or social media updates, which help criminals craft believable messages.
• Increased business email traffic, making slight changes in domain names or invoice details easier to miss.

As long as email remains central to business communication, BEC will remain a persistent threat.

How can you protect your business?

The most effective defense against BEC is a layered approach that combines strong internal controls with ongoing education. Here are a few ways you can help prevent BEC from impacting your organization:

• Verify all payment-change requests using a secondary communication channel, such as a phone call to a known and trusted contact.
• Establish dual controls and approval workflows for wires, ACH originations and payment template changes.
• Train employees regularly to recognize deceptive email characteristics and urgency-based tactics.
• Enforce strong password practices and multi-factor authentication to prevent email account takeover.
• Limit publicly available operational details that could be used to impersonate staff.
• Do not share usernames or passwords with anyone, including anyone claiming to be from the bank. Busey will never contact you to request login credentials or sensitive account information.

How can Busey help?

Our Treasury Management team partners with businesses to strengthen their defenses against BEC and other evolving fraud threats. While each company’s needs are unique, we offer a suite of tools and strategies designed to reduce risk across payment channels, including but not limited to:

• Positive Pay to help prevent check fraud
• ACH Block/filter services to safeguard electronic transactions
• Secure wire and ACH initiation platforms with dual-control options
• User-level permissions, alerts and multi-factor authentication to enhance account security
• Ongoing education and individualized guidance to help your team recognize and respond to threats

At Busey Bank, we’re committed to helping your business navigate this new era of fraud. Together, we can protect what you’ve built, strengthen your defenses and give you peace of mind. Our Treasury Management team brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table, offering tailored solutions designed to enhance your organization's security. To learn more about how Busey can help you safeguard your business, visit busey.com/treasurymanagement.

Your security is a top priority—and staying informed and cautious helps preserve your financial wellbeing. If you believe you’ve been the victim of fraud or a scam on a Busey account, contact our Customer Care team, reach out to your Relationship Manager, visit your local Banking Center to place a fraud alert on your account or follow these steps outlined by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center. For more information, you can also read our Fraud Prevention FAQs, check out our Fraud Prevention Toolkit or view this new resource on the latest and most common trends in payments fraud.