CEO fraud: urgent, secret payment requests from “the boss”
By Trusterity · Updated 14 November 2026
“Are you at your desk? I need a confidential payment processed today. Don't mention it to anyone yet.” It's written in the boss's style — and it isn't the boss.
Why it works
- Authority: few people question the CEO.
- Secrecy: an NDA or acquisition story isolates the employee.
- Urgency: no time for the normal approval workflow.
The scale: business email compromise caused about $3.05 billion in reported losses in 2025, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Report. Source
The control
Make it a rule that no executive — including the CEO — can authorise a payment outside the normal workflow, and that staff are thanked for checking.
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