fbi front

FBI Warns Financial Institutions To Beware of Coronavirus-Related Scams

Business email compromise attacks continue to be effective, tricking victims into transferring funds to fraudulent accounts.

  • By Haley Samsel
  • Apr 09, 2020

Scammers seeking to profit from confusion and fear surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continue to succeed against financial institutions amidst a chaotic environment, according to a new warning issued by the FBI this week.

A FBI release on Monday, reported by CyberScoop, noted that business email compromise (BEC), or phishing, attacks have specifically targeted municipalities that are already desperately seeking to find supplies, such as masks and cleaning products, for their respective communities.

BEC attacks are already the most profitable of any cybercrime in the U.S., taking $1.7 billion from victims last year, the FBI reported. Warnings from other government agencies and studies by cybersecurity firms in the past few months have noted an uptick in scamming campaigns targeting businesses and local governments.

Read More: Attorney General Directs Department of Justice to Crack Down on Coronavirus Scammers, Cyber Criminals

Two recent attacks included in the Monday FBI warning are representative of coronavirus-themed scam emails sent to banks, businesses and local government agencies.

One scammer pretended to be the CEO of a company actually scheduled to receive $1 million from a financial institution. An email sent to the financial institution asked that the transfer date be moved up due to “the Coronavirus outbreak and quarantine processes and precautions,” according to the FBI.

The other scam cited by the bureau was a bank receiving an invoice from a “customer in China” requesting a redirect of funds to a different bank due to “Corona Virus audits.” Not detecting the scam, the victim bank lost “significant” funds making multiple wire transfers to a new bank before realizing the mistake.

Bank officials in particular should be skeptical of any emails urging rushes on wire transfers, messages outside typical communication methods, requests to change direct deposit information from random employees, and efforts to change wiring instructions right before a transfer. Cybersecurity firm FireEye has also warned consumers and companies to watch out for emails preying on confusion and disinformation on stimulus checks and coronavirus-related relief.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

  • Pragmatism, Productivity, and the Push for Accountability in 2025-2026

    Every year, the security industry debates whether artificial intelligence is a disruption, an enabler, or a distraction. By 2025, that conversation matured, where AI became a working dimension in physical identity and access management (PIAM) programs. Observations from 2025 highlight this turning point in AI’s role in access control and define how security leaders are being distinguished based on how they apply it. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • Mobile Safe Shield

    Mobile Safe Shield

    SafeWood Designs, Inc., a manufacturer of patented bullet resistant products, is excited to announce the launch of the Mobile Safe Shield. The Mobile Safe Shield is a moveable bullet resistant shield that provides protection in the event of an assailant and supplies cover in the event of an active shooter. With a heavy-duty steel frame, quality castor wheels, and bullet resistant core, the Mobile Safe Shield is a perfect addition to any guard station, security desks, courthouses, police stations, schools, office spaces and more. The Mobile Safe Shield is incredibly customizable. Bullet resistant materials are available in UL 752 Levels 1 through 8 and include glass, white board, tack board, veneer, and plastic laminate. Flexibility in bullet resistant materials allows for the Mobile Safe Shield to blend more with current interior décor for a seamless design aesthetic. Optional custom paint colors are also available for the steel frame.