CEO fraud is a cyber and financial scam targeting companies, professional firms, agencies, and organizations.

The mechanism is simple but very effective: a criminal impersonates the CEO, an executive, a financial officer, or another authoritative internal figure and asks an employee to make an urgent payment.

The request can arrive via email, SMS, WhatsApp, Teams, phone, or other corporate channels.

Often the message appears credible, uses a firm tone, and leverages urgency, secrecy, and authority.

How CEO Fraud Works

The scammer tries to convince the victim that the request comes from an authorized person.

They may impersonate:

  • CEO;
  • Chief Executive Officer;
  • Chief Financial Officer;
  • Purchasing manager;
  • Internal colleague;
  • Regular supplier;
  • External consultant.

The message often contains a request for urgent payment, a change of IBAN, an invoice to settle, a confidential operation, or a procedure to execute without involving others.

Phrases like “do it immediately,” “it's confidential,” “don't talk about this with anyone,” or “please, utmost discretion” are very important warning signs.

Business Email Compromise

CEO fraud often falls within the category of Business Email Compromise, or BEC.

In some cases, a corporate email account is actually compromised. In others, the scammer uses a domain very similar to the original or a fake email address that, on a quick read, seems authentic.

Typical examples:

  • a domain almost identical to the corporate one;
  • correct displayed name but different email address;
  • personal account used instead of company email;
  • forwarded messages from compromised mailboxes;
  • email signatures copied from real communications.

Therefore, just looking at the sender’s name is not enough: you must also check the domain, the address, and the context of the request.

Most Used Techniques

The scam relies primarily on social engineering.

The criminal does not depend only on technology but on psychological pressure.

Common techniques include:

  • false identity;
  • urgency;
  • authority;
  • secrecy;
  • out-of-procedure requests;
  • sudden IBAN changes;
  • threatening or very pressing tone;
  • requests to bypass internal controls.

The employee is put in a position to think: “If it’s the boss asking, I must do it immediately.”

This is exactly the weak point that the scam exploits.

Warning Signs

Several elements should raise suspicion of CEO fraud:

  • urgent bank transfer request;
  • out-of-procedure request;
  • unusual or overly pressing tone;
  • email from a similar but not identical domain;
  • sudden IBAN change;
  • confidentiality request;
  • invitation to not involve other colleagues;
  • large amounts or new payees;
  • payment to foreign or unknown accounts;
  • request received outside business hours;
  • message with errors, different style, or unusual language.

Even a well-written message can be fake. Verification must always follow a procedure.

How to Defend Yourself

The main rule is not to authorize payments outside standard procedures.

Every request for transfer, IBAN change, or urgent payment must be verified through a secondary channel.

If you receive a payment request from the CEO via email, do not reply directly to the same email to confirm. Call the person using a known phone number or contact them through an official channel.

Companies should adopt multi-level approval procedures, especially for significant payments or changes to supplier banking details.

Good Corporate Practices

To reduce the risk of CEO fraud, it is useful to adopt some measures:

  • dual approval for significant transfers;
  • phone verification for IBAN changes;
  • written procedures for urgent payments;
  • training for administrative staff;
  • monitoring similar email domains;
  • two-factor authentication on company accounts;
  • SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protections on email domains;
  • suspicious access monitoring;
  • operational limits for transfers and payments;
  • internal channel to report suspicious requests.

Technology helps, but procedure is fundamental.

What to Do if the Transfer Has Been Made

If a suspicious payment has already been executed, you must act immediately:

  • contact the bank immediately;
  • request a block or recall of the transfer;
  • notify the internal responsible party;
  • keep emails, messages, headers, and attachments;
  • check if company accounts have been compromised;
  • change passwords and revoke suspicious sessions;
  • activate or verify MFA;
  • report the incident to the proper authorities;
  • inform the IT department or security consultant.

Speed can make a difference in recovering funds.

Conclusion

CEO fraud works not because the message is perfect but because it exploits authority, urgency, and trust.

A real boss should not ask for urgent out-of-procedure transfers.

When a request involves money, IBAN, or company data, stop and verify.

Better to spend five minutes checking than lose thousands of euros to a scam.