How Wire Transfer Fraud and Social Engineering Scams Work

Not every cyberattack involves breaking through a firewall. The most expensive incidents for small businesses often involve no hacking at all. Instead, they trick a person into sending money or information. This is called social engineering.

Business email compromise

In the most common version, an attacker impersonates a boss, vendor, or client and sends an urgent request to change payment details or wire funds. The email looks legitimate, the request feels routine, and the money is gone before anyone notices. Because a real employee authorized the transfer, it can be harder to reverse.

Why it works

Social engineering targets human trust and urgency rather than technical weaknesses. Attackers do their homework, timing requests to real transactions and mimicking the way your contacts actually write.

How to reduce the risk

• Verify any change to payment instructions by phone, using a known number.
• Slow down urgent money requests, which are a classic pressure tactic.
• Train staff to recognize the pattern.

What Truscott recommends

Because these losses can be large and hard to recover, look for cyber coverage that addresses social-engineering fraud specifically. Explore cyber insurance for Florida businesses or start a quote.