This statistic presents the distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, sorted by spoofed specific positions. According to the source, the most spoofed position was the CEO, meaning that 25.6 percent of BEC scammers pretended to be CEOs of their victim companies.
Distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, by spoofed specific positions
Characteristic
Share of spoofed specific positions
CEO
25.6%
Managing Director/Director
24.3%
General Manager/Manager
10.7%
President
8.2%
Professor
1.5%
Others
29.7%
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Share of spoofed specific positions25.6%25.6%24.3%24.3%10.7%10.7%8.2%8.2%1.5%1.5%29.7%29.7%CEOManaging Director/DirectorGeneral Manager/ManagerPresidentProfessorOthers
0%5%10%15%20%25%30%35%
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Trend Micro Smart Protection Network infrastructure; wider industry metrics may vary
Supplementary notes
BEC = Business Email Compromise (BEC) also known as “CEO Fraud”.
BEC is defined as a sophisticated scam targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers and/or businesses that regularly perform wire transfer payments. The scam is carried out by compromising legitimate business e-mail accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds.
Data refers to a sample set of BEC attempts seen, which does not indicate whether the attacks were successful.
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Trend Micro. (February 23, 2021). Distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, by spoofed specific positions [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved February 19, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/820921/spoofed-specific-positions-attempts-by-bec-scams-fraud/
Trend Micro. "Distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, by spoofed specific positions." Chart. February 23, 2021. Statista. Accessed February 19, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/820921/spoofed-specific-positions-attempts-by-bec-scams-fraud/
Trend Micro. (2021). Distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, by spoofed specific positions. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: February 19, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/820921/spoofed-specific-positions-attempts-by-bec-scams-fraud/
Trend Micro. "Distribution of Attempted Business Email Compromise (Bec) Scams Worldwide in 2020, by Spoofed Specific Positions." Statista, Statista Inc., 23 Feb 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/820921/spoofed-specific-positions-attempts-by-bec-scams-fraud/
Trend Micro, Distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, by spoofed specific positions Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/820921/spoofed-specific-positions-attempts-by-bec-scams-fraud/ (last visited February 19, 2025)
Distribution of attempted business email compromise (BEC) scams worldwide in 2020, by spoofed specific positions [Graph], Trend Micro, February 23, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/820921/spoofed-specific-positions-attempts-by-bec-scams-fraud/
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