Business Email Compromise: A Growing Online Security Threat

Having trouble reading this email? View the online version.

English | En français | En español | 繁體中文 | 简体中文 | العربية

Business Email Compromise: a growing online security threat

Hello,

At HSBC, we're committed to online security and helping our customers protect their businesses against fraud and theft. One of the ways we do this is by keeping you informed of emerging trends and threats among cybercriminals and fraudsters.

A business email compromise happens when a fraudster sends an email to your company’s payments team impersonating a contractor, supplier, creditor or even someone in your senior management. For instance, the payments team may receive:

An email appearing to be from the CEO asking that an urgent payment be made. This is often accompanied by a request for secrecy, directing the recipient not to discuss the matter with anyone else.

An email or forged letter from a supplier advising that their account numbers have changed, and instructing all future payments be sent to the new account.

In either case, it can be difficult to detect this type of fraud since cybercriminals make the sender’s email address appear to be the same as a known email address. Fraudsters may even hack into the actual email account of a particular user and send the email directly from there.

How you can take action

Start by making your payments team and/or relevant staff aware of this type of fraud so they can be looking out for it. In addition to this:

Implement payments security that includes a two-step verification process, which involves contacting the sender via an alternative method (e.g., phone, instant message).

Always use known contact details to follow up.

Don’t reply directly to the email.

Don’t use any phone numbers or other contact information included in the email.

If you suspect you’ve been a victim of a business email compromise fraud, please contact your local HSBCnet Support Centre immediately.

Find out more

We've added two videos on HSBCnet that examine the threats of Business Email Compromise and Payment Diversion fraud. These short videos will help you understand what these types of fraud look like and how they can impact your business. More importantly, you'll learn what you can do to protect yourself and your business.

Watch the videos today

These short videos are available in the HSBCnet Help Centre, as shown in the image below:

(select image to enlarge)

We have also published online security factsheets in the HSBCnet Help Centre. We recommend that you review these factsheets for detailed information on how to help keep your business safe.

See what else you can do to protect yourself online with our online security guides and tips.

Sincerely,

Your HSBCnet team

Please do not reply to this email.

The postal address for related inquiries is:
HSBC - GLCM Digital
8 Canada Square
London UK E14 5HQ

This communication is provided by HSBC Bank plc on behalf of the member of the HSBC Group that has contracted with your organisation for the provision of HSBCnet services. You received this email notification because you are a registered User of HSBCnet. Should you have any concerns regarding the validity of this message, please contact your local HSBCnet customer support.

We maintain strict security standards and procedures to prevent unauthorised access to information about you. HSBC will never contact you by email or otherwise ask you to validate personal information, such as your Username, Password or account numbers. If you receive such a request, please call your local HSBCnet customer support. Links within our emails will only take you to information pages.

If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving service information from HSBCnet, please click here.

© Copyright. HSBC Bank plc 2018. All rights reserved.

Privacy & Data Protection Statement | Terms & Conditions

Having trouble reading this email? View the online version.


	English \| En français \| En español \| 繁體中文 \| 简体中文 \| العربية Business Email Compromise: a growing online security threat Hello, At HSBC, we're committed to online security and helping our customers protect their businesses against fraud and theft. One of the ways we do this is by keeping you informed of emerging trends and threats among cybercriminals and fraudsters. A business email compromise happens when a fraudster sends an email to your company’s payments team impersonating a contractor, supplier, creditor or even someone in your senior management. For instance, the payments team may receive: An email appearing to be from the CEO asking that an urgent payment be made. This is often accompanied by a request for secrecy, directing the recipient not to discuss the matter with anyone else. An email or forged letter from a supplier advising that their account numbers have changed, and instructing all future payments be sent to the new account. In either case, it can be difficult to detect this type of fraud since cybercriminals make the sender’s email address appear to be the same as a known email address. Fraudsters may even hack into the actual email account of a particular user and send the email directly from there. How you can take action Start by making your payments team and/or relevant staff aware of this type of fraud so they can be looking out for it. In addition to this: Implement payments security that includes a two-step verification process, which involves contacting the sender via an alternative method (e.g., phone, instant message). Always use known contact details to follow up. Don’t reply directly to the email. Don’t use any phone numbers or other contact information included in the email. If you suspect you’ve been a victim of a business email compromise fraud, please contact your local HSBCnet Support Centre immediately. Find out more We've added two videos on HSBCnet that examine the threats of Business Email Compromise and Payment Diversion fraud. These short videos will help you understand what these types of fraud look like and how they can impact your business. More importantly, you'll learn what you can do to protect yourself and your business. Watch the videos today These short videos are available in the HSBCnet Help Centre, as shown in the image below: (select image to enlarge) We have also published online security factsheets in the HSBCnet Help Centre. We recommend that you review these factsheets for detailed information on how to help keep your business safe. See what else you can do to protect yourself online with our online security guides and tips. Sincerely, Your HSBCnet team



Please do not reply to this email. The postal address for related inquiries is: HSBC - GLCM Digital 8 Canada Square London UK E14 5HQ This communication is provided by HSBC Bank plc on behalf of the member of the HSBC Group that has contracted with your organisation for the provision of HSBCnet services. You received this email notification because you are a registered User of HSBCnet. Should you have any concerns regarding the validity of this message, please contact your local HSBCnet customer support. We maintain strict security standards and procedures to prevent unauthorised access to information about you. HSBC will never contact you by email or otherwise ask you to validate personal information, such as your Username, Password or account numbers. If you receive such a request, please call your local HSBCnet customer support. Links within our emails will only take you to information pages. If you wish to unsubscribe from receiving service information from HSBCnet, please click here. © Copyright. HSBC Bank plc 2018. All rights reserved. Privacy & Data Protection Statement \| Terms & Conditions