Wire Fraud: How an email password can cost you $100,000

Wire FraudWire fraud is one of the most financially damaging threats to people and businesses today. Victims can lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in the blink of an eye.

What is wire fraud? Let’s start with the basics:

A wire transfer is an electronic transfer of funds between entities, usually a bank and someone else.

Wire fraud is the use of this system to steal money.

Typically this is done by fooling a financial institution into wiring money to a fraudulent account. The process often begins with the theft of personal data or email credentials, which means data security is paramount to preventing this threat.

Below we provide an overview of wire fraud so you better protect your business and clients.

Wire fraud grows 10x in 10 years

Three out of four attempts of any type of fraud involves a wire transfer, according to a report from Guardian Analytics.

This is not surprising given the size of the target. The amount of money transferred across telecommunications reached $600 trillion in 2012. When there is that much money in play, scammers will always look to take advantage.

Wire-fraud attacks have increased ten-fold since 2003, according to the Wall Street Journal, and they continue to evolve to better take advantage of security flaws.


Related - Ransomware: How to prevent a crypto crisis at your business


Wire fraud tactics abound

Wire transfer fraud is a complex problem. Scammers can gather information and launch attacks in a dizzying number of ways.

Most attacks begin with the theft of a victim’s email credentials or enough personal data to impersonate the victim at a financial institution. The attacker then tricks the bank into wiring money to a fraudulent account and *poof* the money is gone.

This graphic from the Guardian report shows a few ways this can happen. As you can see, attackers have a long list of tactics to choose from.

wire-fraud-tactics-graphic

Attackers use methods such as malware, phishing, and social engineering to get information or email credentials. They then have an equally broad number of ways to approach the financial institution, as described in the report:

  • Defeat Out-of-Band Confirmation: In this scam, the attacker compromises an online bank account and removes security alerts and/or changes the contact information. Then the scammer can request a wire transfer and confirm his own request without the victim ever knowing.
  • Funeral Scheme: Once a victim’s email account is compromised, the attacker sends an email to the victim’s bank and requests funds for a funeral (or some other reason that earns sympathy). The attacker claims to be out of the country, so the bank sends a form to fill out, sign, and return. The attacker relies on the bank not carefully checking the signature before initiating the transfer.
  • Targeting Employees: Scammers can use a spear phishing attack to install malware on the computer of employees responsible for wire transfers at financial institutions. From there, the scammer can initiate wire transfers of exorbitant sums to any bank account desired.

The number of ways that scammers can attack financial institutions and victimize individuals and businesses is not limited to these types, either. Scammers continue to innovate and develop new ways to take advantage of security flaws.

Spear phishing leads to wire fraud

Spear phishing is a common tactic attackers will use to initiate a wire fraud scheme.

Traditional phishing involves sending an enormous number of emails in hopes of catching a few fish. This approach has grown less effective in recent years, with growing awareness of what the emails look like, so attackers have moved on to a more targeted approach.

Spear phishing involves sending fewer, higher-quality emails to a narrower target. The emails appear to be from a trustworthy source by including personal information or other data acquired by the attacker.

Spear phishing emails are very effective. Their targeted nature gives them a boost in credibility with remarkably better results for attackers.

successful-spear-phishing-attacks

The emails attempt to lower the individual’s guard and often include a malicious link that, when clicked, compromises the individual’s machine. It can also attempt to get the person to reply with personal information.

Once an attacker receives enough information, he then uses it to attempt wire transfer fraud.


Related - Ransomware: How to prevent a crypto crisis at your business


Calyptix AccessEnforcer Can Help

accessenforcer-utm-firewall-models

The AccesEnforcer UTM firewall from Calyptix has many features that can help to protect against wire fraud:

  • Stateful Packet Inspection Firewall: This feature recognizes the connections that you have initiated, allowing them through, and rejects states that do not match one you have initiated. This would help stop brute force attacks and prevent eavesdropping on confidential information.
  • Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDS/IPS): This checks all packets for known malware signatures and blocks malicious content, or simply detects it, depending on your settings.
  • Web Filter: The web filter blocks sites associated with malware and other scams, preventing inside users from visiting these sites and downloading malware that could wreak havoc on the system.

Wire fraud is a serious problem that requires a multi-faceted approach. With enough training of personnel, deployment of security solutions, and steady vigilance, businesses and financial institutions can cut risk and avoid becoming victims.

 

PCI-DSS-for-IT-providers-CTA

 

Related resources

Internet Crime and Scams from FBI Annual Report

Top 7 Network Attack Types in 2015 So Far

DDoS Attacks: Trends show a stronger threat in 2015

Ransomware Prevention: 5 ways to avoid a crisis

 


Written by Calyptix

 - July 29, 2015

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Calyptix Security helps small and medium offices secure their networks so they can raise profits, protect investments, and control technology. Our customers do not waste time with security products designed for large enterprises. Instead, we make it easy for SMBs to protect and manage networks of up to 350 users.
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