CEO fraud is a sophisticated form of business email compromise (BEC) that exploits the authority of executives like CEOs to deceive employees into making unauthorized payments or sharing sensitive data. CEO fraud is a phishing campaign using executive impersonation or an account takeover to trick employees into an email scam. It is also known as executive impersonation.
How CEO Fraud Works
In CEO fraud attacks, criminals impersonate a CEO or other senior executive and send urgent emails to employees—typically those in finance or HR—requesting wire transfers, gift card purchases, or sensitive employee information. The emails often claim secrecy is required, discouraging the recipient from verifying the request through other channels.
How to Identify CEO Fraud
Telltale signs of fraudulent CEO emails include
Unexpected requests to transfer money, buy gift cards, or change banking details
Mismatched display name and email address, or an almost correct domain
Language that pressures immediate action, discourages phone confirmation, or invokes secrecy
Attachments or links inconsistent with the executive's normal communication style
How to Stop CEO Fraud
Companies should build a robust cybersecurity stack and simplify reporting procedures by making forwarding emails to security teams as simple as possible. Organizations should implement verification policies that mandate secondary confirmation before large fund transfers, such as a phone call.
Pangratis detects CEO fraud by analyzing the behavioral signals and communication patterns of every email, identifying impersonation attempts even when attackers use legitimate-looking email addresses or have compromised real accounts.