Federal law defines wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 as a scheme to defraud, an intent to defraud, and the use of electronic communications to execute or further the scheme. The four essential elements of the crime of wire fraud are:

• The defendant voluntarily and intentionally devised or participated in a scheme to defraud another out of money

• The defendant did so with the intent to defraud

• It was reasonably foreseeable that interstate wire communications would be used

• Interstate wire communications were in fact used

Wire fraud attacks exploit human trust rather than technical vulnerabilities through a systematic four-phase approach that targets businesses with regular financial transactions and complex approval chains.

• Reconnaissance and Target Selection: Attackers conduct extensive research of target organizations to identify key personnel, communication patterns, and established vendor relationships, focusing on businesses with regular financial transactions and complex approval chains.

• Email Account Compromise: Through sophisticated phishing campaigns, credential harvesting, or direct intrusion methods, attackers gain access to legitimate email accounts or create convincing impersonation campaigns without requiring technical system compromise.

• Identity Impersonation: Leveraging gathered intelligence, attackers impersonate C-suite executives, legal counsel, established vendors, or HR personnel, crafting communications that align with normal business processes and communication styles.

• Financial Transaction Redirection: Using established trust relationships, attackers redirect legitimate financial transactions to attacker-controlled accounts, often leveraging cryptocurrency exchanges, third-party payment processors, or traditional wire transfer systems to facilitate fund extraction.

Understanding this systematic approach helps security teams recognize that wire fraud often appears entirely legitimate until the final transaction phase, requiring behavioral analysis rather than traditional signature-based detection methods.

Wire fraud manifests through several distinct attack patterns, each targeting different organizational vulnerabilities and financial processes.

BEC represents the dominant wire fraud vector, generatingbillions in losses. These attacks exploit compromised or spoofed email accounts to impersonate trusted business contacts, targeting organizations' financial authorization processes. Modern BEC campaigns often exploit Single Sign-On (SSO) systems where stolen credentials can compromise entire application ecosystems, amplifying attack impact beyond initial email access.

Executive impersonation attacks leverage organizational hierarchy and authority structures to bypass normal financial controls. Attackers research executive communication patterns, travel schedules, and business relationships to craft urgent requests for wire transfers or sensitive information. These attacks often target periods when executives are traveling or unavailable for direct verification, exploiting time pressure to circumvent established procedures.

Supply chain-focused attacks compromise vendor communications or create lookalike domains to redirect legitimate payments to attacker-controlled accounts. These schemes often involve long-term monitoring of vendor relationships to identify optimal timing for payment redirection requests, making them particularly difficult to detect through traditional email security measures.

Wire fraud propagation relies on trust exploitation rather than technical infection vectors, creating a different threat model from traditional malware campaigns that requires specialized detection approaches.

Attackers leverage compromised email accounts to establish credibility within target organizations, often spending weeks or months observing communication patterns before initiating fraudulent requests. The social engineering component allows attacks to spread through organizational relationships, with successful compromises in one department enabling attacks against related business units or partner organizations.

Prevention strategies must address both technical vulnerabilities and human factors that enable wire fraud success. These include the following steps:

• Implement multi-factor authentication across all financial systems and email platforms to prevent account compromise

• Establish out-of-band verification protocols requiring voice confirmation for all wire transfer requests above defined thresholds

• Deploy advanced email security solutions with behavioral analysis capabilities to detect sophisticated impersonation attempts

• Create dual authorization requirements for all financial transactions, ensuring multiple individuals verify transfer authenticity

• Conduct regular security awareness training focused on current wire fraud tactics and verification procedures

• Monitor financial transactions for unusual patterns including new payees, changed banking information, and transfers to high-risk destinations

• Maintain incident response procedures that include immediate reporting to FBI IC3 and coordination with financial institutions for potential recovery

Identify fraudulent requests before financial transactions occur, maintaining both security and operational efficiency. Book a demo to learn how Abnormal can help.