BEC is driven by social engineering campaigns that use the psychology of impersonation to persuade people to take an action, such as paying a fraudulent invoice or sharing sensitive login credentials. With AI-powered advances, BEC has become all the more powerful, given cybercriminals’ ability to use chat generators, voice cloning, and other tactics to create highly realistic emails and messages mimicking a company’s CEO or other officials, with phishing links or directions to wire funds. The more exposed an executive or senior leader is online, the easier it is to generate these types of attacks.
“The IC3 report alerts us to a pervasive reality that we can’t afford to ignore: highly motivated threat actors know where the gaps in security exist for enterprises and Family Offices and are actively exploiting them at an accelerated rate,” said Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak. “The rise of AI-enabled cybercrime and scams, deepfake impersonations, phishing and ransomware attacks, and identity theft demonstrates the consequences of an ever-growing digital risk environment. This latest report underscores the critical importance of safeguarding the personal digital lives of executives and high-net-worth individuals through a comprehensive approach, and further fuels the BlackCloak team’s passion and purpose in our work every day.”
FBI Report Findings Highlight Growing Dangers
- Cyber-enabled Fraud: 85% of all losses reported in 2025 were due to cyber-enabled fraudulent activities, including theft of money, data, or identity, or the creation of counterfeit goods or services, totaling $17.7B in losses.
- Business Email Compromise: Scams that compromise business and individual email accounts to conduct unauthorized transfer of funds, accounting for 14.6% of all 2025 losses, totaling slightly more than $3B.
- Tech/Customer Support Fraud: In 2025, nearly 48,000 complaints were filed by individuals about cybercriminals posing as technical or customer support/service representatives, resulting in losses totaling $2.1B.
The FBI’s report emphasizes cybercriminals’ evolving methods for exploiting the human attack surface, targeting vulnerabilities among high-profile individuals, business leaders, and their families. In particular, such individuals’ personal and smart-home devices, accounts, and home Wi-Fi, as well as their identities and broader digital footprints, are largely unprotected, increasing the likelihood of an attack.
BlackCloak’s own research underscores this harsh reality:
- Widespread Vulnerability: 87% of new clients had no security on their personal mobile devices or tablets prior to onboarding with BlackCloak.
- Deep Web Exposure: 100% of client households were found to have exposed passwords on the dark web during their initial assessment.
- Hidden Compromise: 39% of new members were found to have active malware on their personal devices or wide-open home networks before securing them with BlackCloak.
- The Family Entry Point: Over 50% of organizations believe it is highly likely that an executive’s partner or child will be the entry point for a targeted campaign.
For more information about BlackCloak’s Digital Executive Protection solution, visit blackcloak.io.
About BlackCloak
BlackCloak protects corporate executives and high-profile individuals from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Concierge Cybersecurity & Privacy™ Platform is a full-category solution that includes mobile and desktop apps and concierge support. Executives and high-profile individuals gain complete peace of mind knowing their family, reputation, and finances are secured. Companies rest assured that their brand, intellectual property, data, and finances are protected against threats from executives without invading their personal lives. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io and follow us on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Beth Trier, BlackCloak, 1 4156018104, [email protected], https://blackcloak.io/
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