[Cyber Security Terms](/glossary) Business Email Compromise (BEC) [Blog](/blog)[Breaches](/breaches)[Resources](/resources)[News](/news) [Cyber Security Terms](/glossary) # Business Email Compromise (BEC) ##### [Catherine Chipeta](/team/catherine-chipeta) updated Jul 08, 2025 ###### Contents ## Business Email Compromise (BEC) [Business email compromise (BEC)](https://www.upguard.com/blog/business-email-compromise) is a type of email scam where cybercriminals scam organizations through [social engineering techniques](https://www.upguard.com/blog/social-engineering). BEC is also referred to as email account compromise (EAC) or ‘man-in-the-email’ scamming. ## How Does Business Email Compromise Work? Cybercriminals usually carry out BEC scams by directly hacking an employee's email account, e.g. with a keylogger, or by undertaking a social engineering scheme, like [spear phishing](https://www.upguard.com/blog/spear-phishing), to pose as an employee. The cybercriminal impersonates the legitimate business email account holder in their email correspondence to lure unsuspecting employees into compromising [sensitive data](https://www.upguard.com/blog/sensitive-data).  ## How Do You Prevent Business Email Compromise? There are a number of techniques organizations can use to help prevent BEC, such as: * Staff awareness training * Registering misspelled domain names * Implementing email verification, like [SPF Filtering](https://www.upguard.com/blog/spf), DKIM, and [DMARC](https://www.upguard.com/blog/dmarc). * Developing effective security controls * Limiting the public display of [personally identifiable information (PII)](https://www.upguard.com/blog/personally-identifiable-information-pii) ## Key takeaways * BEC is currently the #1 digital crime in terms of financial loss. * Cybercriminals can either hack accounts directly or use spoofed email addresses to conduct BEC scams. * Organizations should contact their financial provider immediately if any fraudulent transactions occur. * * ###### Reviewed by No items found. ###### Author ##### [Catherine Chipeta](/team/catherine-chipeta) ###### Reviewed by ##### [Axel Sukianto](/team/axel-sukianto) ###### Join 27,000+ cybersecurity newsletter subscribers ## Read more about Business Email Compromise Learn more about Business Email Compromise (BEC) and the latest issues in cybersecurity. [UpGuard](/blog/business-email-compromise) [What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)? And How To Prevent It](/blog/business-email-compromise) #### [What is Business Email Compromise (BEC)? And How To Prevent It](/blog/business-email-compromise) Business email compromise (BEC) occurs when cybercriminals scam organizations of sensitive data via email. Learn prevention technqiues. [](/team/catherine-chipeta) [Catherine Chipeta](#) June 24, 2025 [View all blog posts](/blog) ## See UpGuard In Action Book a free, personalized onboarding call with one of our cybersecurity experts. [Contact sales](/demo) [Free demo](/demo) ## More from our blog Learn more about the latest issues in cybersecurity. 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