Over 2024 and early 2025, multiple U.S. businesses — including in Mississippi — were targeted by a sophisticated business email compromise (BEC) scam. In total, more than $547,000 was fraudulently redirected into accounts controlled by criminals posing as internal finance staff.
A man involved in laundering proceeds from the scheme was recently sentenced to 57 months in prison, following a Department of Justice investigation into multi‑national BEC scams. While the legal outcome is clear, the operational risk for finance teams remains pressing.
Why this matters for finance teams
BEC attacks don’t rely on malware or system breaches. They exploit routine processes — particularly where finance teams rely on email for vendor and internal approvals. In this case, criminals impersonated employees using email domains that closely resembled legitimate ones, requesting payments to newly created U.S. bank accounts.
Many AP teams still don’t have a robust way to verify whether banking instructions — even when they appear internal — are valid and authorized.
That’s where Eftsure comes in. Eftsure continuously verifies vendor payment data against independently validated records, alerting finance teams when something doesn’t match — before the money leaves the account.
How the scam worked
- Domain spoofing: Fraudsters created lookalike email domains to impersonate finance staff
- Fake payment requests: Targeted emails instructed staff to send wire payments to new accounts
- Domestic laundering: U.S. accomplices opened and controlled mule accounts to receive the funds
- Cross-border transfer: Funds were withdrawn, transferred through additional channels, including cryptocurrency, and moved offshore
The attack succeeded because the emails looked credible and arrived at the right moment in the payment process.
Explore how domain spoofing exposes finance workflows, even in well-controlled environments.
Reducing the risk of BEC payment fraud
To reduce the likelihood of this kind of scam, finance leaders should:
- Verify all payment requests through trusted channels
Never approve new payment instructions based solely on an email — confirm through known phone numbers or secure platforms. - Validate vendors and internal accounts with Eftsure
Eftsure cross-checks banking details against verified records, helping you spot fake requests before money leaves your system. - Flag high-risk payment behavior
Watch for unusual timing, new accounts, and one-off wire requests — especially those involving overseas transfers. - Educate finance teams
Train staff to spot email anomalies like misspelled domains, odd language or unexpected urgency.
The bottom line
BEC attacks are still working — not because companies lack cybersecurity, but because the payment process itself is vulnerable. Fraudsters don’t need to break into systems. They just need to look legitimate and hit the right person at the right time.
When internal processes can’t catch everything, finance teams need a control that verifies payments independently. Eftsure provides that critical final check — so your team doesn’t need to second-guess every request.
Book a demo to see how Eftsure helps secure your vendor payments and wire transfers.
