Understanding Executive Threats: Protecting Against CEO Fraud Scams

 What Is CEO Fraud and How Does It Work? 

CEO fraud, also known as business email compromise (BEC) or whaling, is an email scam in which an organized crime group targets or impersonates a C-level executive within an organization with access to financial information or other sensitive data. The aim of this malicious scam is to trick an employee into sharing valuable data or conducting a fraudulent wire transfer. So how exactly is this done? Let’s take a closer look at the anatomy of a successful CEO fraud attack:

Step 1: A Target Is Identified

Cyber criminals select a business to target, exploiting information available online in a process known as ‘social engineering’ to profile the company and its C-suite executives. 

Step 2: Preparation

Spear phishing emails coming from a compromised or spoofed executive account are sent to an employee - typically within the finance or HR department - of the target company. Malicious actors employ a combination of deception and pressure to exploit human nature. Because these attacks emphasize confidentiality and urgency, the victim is often inclined to take action without checking to ensure that the request is legitimate.

Step 3: Information Is Exchanged

The victim is convinced that he or she is conducting a valid business transaction and is provided with fraudulent wire transfer instructions by the attackers.

Step 4: Criminals Get Paid

Once the fraudulent transfer is made, funds are directed to a bank account controlled by the threat group.

CEO fraud scams can have severe consequences for businesses of all sizes spanning all industries, including financial loss, data theft, significant downtime, and serious reputation damage, among others. In 2024, the UK-based engineering firm Arup experienced the devastating impact of a successful CEO fraud scam firsthand.  In this case, a digitally cloned CFO convinced employees to transfer $25 million to cybercriminals during a company video conference. This is just one example of how social engineering and deepfake technology can completely bypass traditional email security measures.

Who Are the Main Targets in a CEO Fraud Scam? 

The name of this email-borne cyber attack can be deceiving, as it implies that CEO fraud is solely a threat to the CEO of a company. However, this could not be further from the truth. There are at least four other groups of employees who are viewed by attackers as valuable targets, given their roles and the access they have to sensitive information and funds:

Finance

The finance department is an especially popular target in companies that engage in large wire transfers on a regular basis, such as those in the real estate industry. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for insecure internal policies to solely require an email from the CEO or another C-suite executive to initiate a transfer. As a result, finance employees often do not verify transfer requests they receive.

HR

Human resources present a great point of entry into a business. After all, HR employees have access to every person within an organization and oversee recruitment. HR employees receive and open thousands of job applications via email. By inserting spyware into a fraudulent application, cyber criminals can gain entry into a company’s systems and surreptitiously sit on corporate networks, gathering sensitive data. Moreover, by targeting HR employees in W2 and PII scams, criminals are often able to gain access to confidential employee information like social security numbers and email addresses.

Executive Team

All members of a company’s executive team are high-value targets for CEO fraud. The majority of these individuals possess some sort of financial authority. If an executive team member’s email account is hacked, cyber criminals are usually able to access a plethora of sensitive information and intelligence, such as insights into deals and business operations.

IT

IT managers and personnel with authority over email accounts, password management, and access controls are another high-value target of CEO fraud. If an IT professional’s credentials are compromised, threat actors have ‘hit the jackpot’ - they gain entry to every part of the target organization.

How Can I Protect Against CEO Fraud?

There are various measures that users and organizations should take to prevent CEO fraud attacks. They include protecting corporate email accounts with two-factor authentication (2FA), educating employees on email threats and email security best practices and verifying all wire transfer requests. However, the single most effective method of preventing CEO fraud scams is ensuring that a comprehensive, threat-ready cloud email security solution is in place to fortify business email accounts against sophisticated modern exploits.

CEO Fraud FAQ

What are the warning signs of a CEO fraud email?

Look for small details that don’t fit — a spoofed address, slightly off tone, or a sudden push to move money fast. Real executives rarely write like that or demand instant transfers without context.

What should employees do if they receive a suspicious email from an executive?

Don’t reply to the message. Call or message the executive directly using a trusted channel.

What are the most targeted departments in CEO fraud schemes?

Finance, IT, HR, and leadership teams get hit first. Attackers go straight for people with access — the ones who can release funds or expose data with a single click.

How Email Authentication Stops Executive Impersonation

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC do the quiet work before a message ever lands. They check where an email claims to come from and whether it actually matches the sender’s authorized domain. When a message fails those checks, it’s flagged, quarantined, or blocked outright. That’s how most spoofed “executive” messages die before they reach an inbox. These protocols don’t fix human trust, but they make it harder to weaponize.

CEO Fraud vs. Regular Phishing

Phishing usually feels random — fake invoices, fake shipping notices, fake password resets. CEO fraud cuts closer. It’s targeted, often urgent, and almost always looks like it’s coming from someone inside the company. The attacker borrows authority, not just identity. That’s what makes one email from a “CEO” more dangerous than a thousand fake bank alerts.

How Attackers Research Their Targets

They don’t need to breach anything to get started. Open sources do the work. LinkedIn profiles, company press releases, and executive bios outline hierarchy and tone. Public posts show writing habits, schedules, and even travel plans. Some attackers take it further — posing as vendors, reporters, or new hires to pull details from staff. Every small fact adds realism when they finally send the fake request.

How Guardian Digital Helps Prevent CEO Fraud 

CEO fraud keeps working because it targets trust, not systems. Attackers don’t need malware when a convincing email gets the same result. Guardian Digital builds its defenses around that idea — anticipating how people think, not just what machines can flag. The approach is layered, adaptive, and designed to catch impersonation early.

Guardian Digital EnGarde Cloud Email Security works in motion, not after the fact. It scans each message in real time, weighing sender reputation, link behavior, and attachment safety. Multiple layers of advanced threat protection and email authentication protocols verify who’s really behind the message. The aim isn’t just to block spam, but to keep near-perfect fakes from ever reaching decision-makers.

• Filters out impersonation and spoofing attempts
• Validates sender identity with layered authentication
• Blocks malicious links and attachments
• Fits into existing mail systems without disruption
• Backed by ongoing monitoring and support

The system runs on an open-source development model — code tested and refined in public view for over two decades. That transparency builds accountability, not just marketing claims.

People still matter in this equation. Awareness helps, but no one catches every trick. Guardian Digital gives teams that safety margin, spotting what human instinct might miss. It keeps communication clean and credible when everything around it tries to imitate trust.

Let’s get in touch to see how we at Guardian Digital can help safeguard your users, data, and brand.