FBI warns of new email auto-forwarding scam targeting vulnerabilities in web based email clients amongst Covid19 Pandemic

Scammers are exploiting auto-forwarding rules to boost the success rate of so-called Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, the FBI said in a statement.

BEC is a sophisticated scam targeting businesses that perform electronic payments such as wire or automated clearing house transfers. A cyber criminal initially compromises a business email account through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques. Following the initial intrusion, the cyber criminal uses the system access to conduct reconnaissance on the victim’s email communications. Using information gathered from the compromised accounts and reconnaissance efforts created by system access following the initial intrusion, the cyber criminal then impersonates an employee over email communications to redirect pending or future payments to fraudulent bank accounts. BEC actors create auto-forwarding rules within email accounts after they obtain employee credentials to decrease the victims’ ability to observe fraudulent communications. This allows cyber-criminals to better conceal their scamming activities, the FBI said, adding that scammers are doing this as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitates more teleworking, another factor increasing the likelihood of success. To learn more, see the FBI statement located here.