How a Single Email Stole $1.9 Million from Southern Oregon University

If you’re wondering why hackers are more prolific now than ever before, perhaps it’s because corporations paid out over $3 billion to fraudsters last year. This year, Southern Oregon University is just the latest victim adding to that rising total by succumbing to a business email compromise (BEC) attack; one of 78 to be exact.

The University received a fraudulent email informing them of a new bank account they should make payments to for the construction of a pavilion and student recreation center. This account obviously belonged to the hackers, thus leading the construction company to inform the University that they were never paid.

BEC scams work when the scammer, posing as a vendor, sends out a convincing email either similar to or hacked from the vendor, informing the victim of a new or changed bank account. Once the money is sent, its usually too late to be recovered by the time the crime is noticed.

Remember, most of these scams rely on a single employee unknowingly clicking on a link, opening an email, or otherwise failing to do basic due diligence before trusting an unknown source. Optfinity provides levels of authenticity, training for staff, encryption, and reporting for all our clients. Want to be sure your company never falls for a BEC, contact us today for a free, no obligation assessment and stop paying the scammers’ mortgages.