The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to personalize phishing emails is becoming a growing problem for businesses and consumers alike. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, a lawsuit was recently filed after online hackers used fake business emails to steal more than $800,000 from a Houston company.
The scam, dubbed a Business Email Compromise (BEC) scheme, is a type of phishing attack that targets businesses involved in wire transfer payments. The hackers were able to gain access to an employee’s computer and company networks, including email servers and accounts. Using this information, they were able to create fake emails that appeared to be from legitimate vendors and convince the employees to wire funds to an account that the hackers controlled.
The Secret Service is leading the investigation into this case, but has also offered some helpful tips to avoid becoming a victim of a BEC scheme. These include enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all email accounts, regularly changing passwords, monitoring email accounts for unauthorized access, and only transferring funds to known and verified accounts.
It is essential that businesses and individuals remain vigilant when it comes to online security. With AI becoming increasingly sophisticated, scammers are able to personalize phishing emails and make them harder to detect. By following the advice of the Secret Service, businesses and consumers can protect themselves from becoming victims of BEC scams.