Corvus: Fraudulent fund transfer claims reach all-time high

An FFT occurs when an actor utilizes tactics to gain the trust of an employee or company and convince them to send money to a bank account the fraudster controls. (Credit: davidevison – Fotolia)

Ransomware is a well-known scourge in the cyber world, with these claims averaging $256,000 each. Those big, scary dollar amounts grab headlines, but the Risk Insights Index from Corvus reveals one of the most significant drivers of cybercrime is actually fraudulent fund transfer (FFT), which comprised 36% of the company’s cyber claims in the third quarter of 2022. While these claims typically aren’t as financially destructive as ransomware attacks individually, they still pack a punch at an average of $90,000 in losses for each attack.

An FFT occurs when an actor utilizes tactics to gain the trust of an employee or company and convince them to send money to a bank account the fraudster controls. FFTs also make up 70% of all business email compromise (BEC) claims, in which an attacker is able to gain an employee’s email login credentials. Once a cybercriminal has gained access to an employee’s inbox, it makes it much easier for them to make themselves appear legitimate in order to complete FFTs. Corvus also reported a rise of around 10% in BECs, ending with them representing 45% of claims in the first half of 2022.