The FBI’s Milwaukee office says sophisticated email scams aimed at local governments, nonprofits and churches are on the rise. The messages are built to look routine: a trusted name, a payment request, and an address altered just enough to survive a quick look.
Organizations should examine email addresses carefully and independently verify unexpected financial requests before transferring money.
A Pastor’s Name on the Wrong Account
Business email compromise is a narrow kind of fraud. Criminals use deceptive emails to trick an organization into sending money. They impersonate trusted contacts and build addresses that closely resemble real ones, changing small details so the message looks authentic.
Carr said the alterations are slight. They are supposed to be. The change is built for a glance: someone who recognizes the sender’s name is not meant to retype the domain, especially when the ask is a transfer the organization already knows how to make…