The Internet Crime Centre (IC3) of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued an Announcement warning that cyber-frauds via business email compromise (BEC) cost businesses USD 43b in losses between June 2016 and December 2021. The Announcement defines BEC as “a sophisticated scam that targets both businesses and individuals who perform legitimate transfer-of-funds requests. The scam is frequently carried out when an individual compromises legitimate business or personal email accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds. The scam is not always associated with a transfer-of-funds request”. According to IC3 data, BEC fraud was the biggest category of cybercrime by financial losses in 2021, costing businesses $2.4 billion in 2021, up from $1.8 billion in 2020. Find the Announcement here.