Social engineering and business email compromise continue to be the primary fraud threats for businesses, according to a new survey of corporate treasurers, with 73% saying they’d been impacted by fraud attempts over the past year.
The survey by Bottomline and Strategic Treasurer, which included answers from more than 300 respondents serving in roles like cash manager, treasurer or CFO, found that 30% of banks and other organizations plan to spend more in 2023 on fraud prevention, while 53% said rapid payments increase their fraud risk.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaints Center (IC3), business email compromise resulted in losses of nearly $3 billion in 2022, making it the second-costliest type of fraud reported by the agency.
Here’s a look at a few other key findings of the report by Bottomline and Strategic Treasurer:
- 82% of respondents said business email compromise was at least attempted, and 10% suffered a BEC-related loss. Social engineering fraud attempts through phone, email or text were similarly common, with 59% reporting attempts and another 6% reporting losses.
- Remote work is perceived as increasing risk, with 64% saying it opens them up to BEC-related fraud, and just under 40% citing increased risk of data theft and external fraud related to remote work.
- Among those who said rapid payment systems increase risk, the top reason cited was irrevocable payments (76%).
