During the first half of 2021, Coalition saw a surge of these attacks and initial fund transfer fraud losses reached an average of $388,000 (before accounting for recovered funds). In the second half the average initial loss did temper some as it dropped 11% to $347,000. However, that was still 78% above initial average losses from 2020. (Credit: fizkes/Adobe Stock) During the first half of 2021, Coalition saw a surge of these attacks and initial fund transfer fraud losses reached an average of $388,000 (before accounting for recovered funds). In the second half, the average initial loss did temper some as it dropped 11% to $347,000. However, that was still 78% above initial average losses from 2020. (Credit: fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Overall fund transfer fraud (FTF) losses increased 69% from 2020-2021, according to claims data from Coalition, Inc. The frequency of these cybercrimes grew 21% for companies with less than $25 million in annual revenue and 68% for those with $25 million-$100 million in revenue during the period.

Typically initiated through social engineering tactics such as phishing and business email compromise, FTF is one of the easier ways to monetize a cyberattack, the insurance company wrote in its 2022 Cyber Claims Report. Once they have access to a business email, hackers can manipulate contracts or modify payment instructions at times without even triggering security alerts. Cybercriminals are also sending payment instructions that purport to come from customers or vendors either through spoof accounts made to look legit or by comprising the third party's email system.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Steve Hallo

Steve Hallo is managing editor of PropertyCasualty360.com. He can be reached at [email protected]

Coverage & Policy Issues
Information Security
Commercial Lines