scams involve a range of email, instant message, SMS and social media tactics used by cybercriminals to fraudulently access money or goods.
Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Ms Abigail Bradshaw CSC, said there has been a significant increase in the use of BEC scams by cybercriminals.
“This type of fraud has been used to hoodwink many Australians and Australian businesses, out of often very large sums of money,” said Ms Bradshaw.
“In 2019-20 financial year there were 4,255 reports of BEC scams reported through the ACSC’s ReportCyber tool, representing losses of over $142 million.”
“This advisory will help you to identify scams, prevent email accounts from being compromised, and prevent damage to your business reputation.”
The Protecting Against Business Email Compromise publication, and other easy to follow cyber security information and advice, is available at cyber.gov.au.
You can report cybercrime by going to www.cyber.gov.au and ReportCyber, providing a single online portal for individuals and businesses on behalf of federal, state and territory law enforcement agencies.
