Email
msanders@acme-inc.co
92
Risk score / 100
High risk — CEO impersonation
Why we flagged this
Matched across multiple trusted sources and community reports.
Community reports (5)
Real stories from verified victims. Most recent first.
Finance manager · Dallas, TX · lost $87,000
An email from our CEO said he was about to board a flight and needed me to wire $87k to a new vendor 'today, confidential.' Same writing style. Same signature. The domain was off by one letter.
How this scam type works
From our Business Email Compromise guide.
- Reconnaissance. Attackers study your company's public org chart, vendor relationships, and email patterns (often from LinkedIn).
- Account compromise or spoofing. They either hack a real executive's email via phishing or register a lookalike domain (acme-inc.co instead of acme-inc.com).
- The urgent request. 'Hi, I'm about to board a flight — I need you to wire $87,000 to this new vendor today. Confidential, don't loop in anyone else.'
- New banking details. Legitimate vendor suddenly sends 'updated wiring instructions' — but they're from the attacker's lookalike domain.
- The wire, gone in minutes. Recovery is nearly impossible once funds hit the receiving account.
Been scammed?
Emergency help — what to do right now Step-by-step guide for lost money, shared info, or phishing clicks.
Also report to
Official channels where this matters.
- FBI IC3ic3.gov
- FTCreportfraud.ftc.gov
- Chainabusechainabuse.com