What is the CEO scam that is causing huge damage ?

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Do you know about the CEO scam? If not, you should pay attention to what follows, because this scam sometimes costs several million euros to companies, government departments, or local authorities that are victims of it. Here is everything you need to know.

How it works ?

As the Ministry of Economy details on its website, this fraud has been on the rise for several years. The modus operandi is extremely effective. In concrete terms, the scammer contacts the accounting department of a target company and pretends to be the group's president. This contact can be made by e-mail or even by telephone.

The malicious actor will first try to establish a bond of trust with the victim. Once this short period has passed, he asks for a transfer to be made to his account by creating a sense of urgency in the exchange. The accountant agrees and the organization then risks losing a lot of money. This scam can take many forms, and in some cases, the scammer even pretends to be a minister!

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How to avoid the worst ?

As you can see, vigilance is more important than ever. In particular, it is important to remind employees of the risks, particularly the importance of not disclosing information about how the organization operates. In addition, it is necessary to ensure that verification and multiple signature procedures are established for international payments, the ministry specifies.

Up-to-date maintenance of the computer system is essential. Finally, you must be particularly careful on weekends, public holidays and school vacation periods. It is in these quiet periods that criminals often take action.

Finally, and if the damage has been done, you must immediately identify the transfers executed and the payment mandate. You must then request the blocking of the fraudulent bank details. Then consider filing a complaint with the police and gendarmerie services, providing as much information as possible. The idea is to optimize the chances of recovering the stolen funds.

The incredible deepfake scam that cost $25 million

These threats can also take the form of highly sophisticated scams that were impossible to carry out just a few years ago. We remember in particular this incredible story that occurred in Hong Kong, where an employee of a multinational company agreed to pay 25 million dollars during a video conference where all his interlocutors were only a recreation of managers by deepfake! More information in our previous article here.

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