What the CEO Scam is

What Is the CEO scam?
The CEO scam primarily targets businesses—especially small and medium-sized enterprises—and is happening all over the world. Its goal is to deceive employees through emails that appear to come from company executives, persuading them to transfer money or share valuable data with cybercriminals.

Here’s how it works step by step:

• Every CEO scam begins with a BEC attack (Business Email Compromise). Cybercriminals gain access to a corporate email account.
• Using this compromised account, they send emails to lower-level employees or financial managers, instructing them to transfer money to the criminals’ accounts. This could be framed as an urgent supplier payment or a partner transaction.
• The unsuspecting employee, believing they are following legitimate instructions from their superior, makes the transfer. The scam often continues with repeated payments until discovered.

The CEO scam is a form of email phishing, utilizing social engineering techniques to manipulate employees into transferring money. Sometimes, cybercriminals aim to obtain confidential company data for ransom or resale.

Which companies are most at risk of CEO fraud?
As mentioned, small and medium-sized enterprises—where security awareness is often lower and financial transactions frequently occur via email—are the most vulnerable.
Another key risk factor is a company’s habit of making international payments. Businesses involved in import/export or those working with global suppliers and partners are frequent targets.

How to Protect Businesses from the CEO Scam
The best way to avoid falling victim to the CEO scam is by implementing solid cybersecurity measures:

• Employee training is crucial—ensuring your team understands cyber threats and best practices is the first step in prevention.
• Restrict employee access to critical data—the “Zero Trust” security model limits employees’ access only to the information necessary for their specific tasks. If an account is compromised, attackers will only have access to a minimal amount of data.
• Enforce strict financial procedures—specialized payment management software can integrate automatic verification workflows, requiring multiple employee approvals before executing financial transactions.
• Use strong authentication systems—a corporate email breach usually occurs due to weak security measures. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the best ways to enhance protection.
• Keep security systems updated—firewalls, intrusion prevention software, and secure VPNs for remote employees are critical tools to guard against cybercriminal attacks.

For more information on keeping personal data safe, discover SICURNET, a service that scans the web (including the Dark Web) and alerts you if your data is compromised.