An in-depth investigative study by Better Business Bureau has found that business email compromise scams are skyrocketing in frequency and have cost businesses and other organizations more than $3 billion since 2016. Business email compromise fraud is an email phishing scam that typically targets people who pay bills in businesses, government and nonprofit organizations.

It affects both big and small organizations, according to Steve Baker, International BBB Investigator and former FTC Midwest Regional Director.

In this scam, the scammer poses as a reliable source who sends an email from a spoofed or hacked account to an accountant or chief financial officer (CFO), asking them to wire money, buy gift cards or send personal information, often for a plausible reason. If money is sent, it goes into an account controlled by the con artist. To see tips on how to deal with this fraud, go to bbb.org.