BEC Global Insights Report: July 2026

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The findings in this report come from the results of active defense engagements with BEC threat actors. Every month, Fortra Intelligence & Research Experts (FIRE) conducts hundreds of these engagements to collect comprehensive intelligence about BEC tactics and trends to help better understand how the BEC threat landscape is evolving.

The primary findings for July 2026 detailed in this report include the following:

• During July 2026, FIRE observed a decrease of 12% in overall attack volume in comparison to the prior month.
• Gift cards was the most common cash-out method in July, totaling 50.2% of all cash-out methods.
• Apple Store was the most requested of all gift card types, making up 38.5% of total gift card requests.
• FIRE identified 31 cryptocurrency-related scams and recorded 15 unique wallets used by scammers.
• The average amount requested from BEC wire transfer attackers was $44,100 in July compared to $71,295 in June 2026.
• 59% of BEC attacks were sent from email addresses hosted on free webmail providers compared to 41% of attacks sent from maliciously registered domains.
   

BEC ATTACK TRENDS

During the month of July 2026, FIRE observed a decrease of 12% in overall attack volume in comparison to the prior month.

In July 2026, Gift cards remained the most prevalent BEC cash-out method, accounting for 50.2% of all attacks, followed by advanced fee frauds (25.6%) and wire transfers (12.0%).

GIFT CARDS

During July, Apple Store gift cards were the most frequently requested by BEC attackers, representing 38.5% of all gift card requests. Other commonly requested gift cards included Amazon (33.3%) and Uber Eats (7.7%).

CRYPTOCURRENCY

FIRE identified 31 cryptocurrency-related scams during July, involving 15 unique Bitcoin wallet addresses. The requested amounts ranged from $750.00 to $50,509.00, with an average request of $3,896.12.

BEC WIRE TRANSFERS

Wire transfer attacks decreased by 21% during July 2026 compared to June 2026. The average amount requested per wire transfer attack was $44,100 in July, representing a decrease of 38% from the previous month's average of $71,295.

Analysis of requested amounts showed that 8% of wire transfer requests were under $10,000, while 70% fell between $10,000 and $50,000. Requests between $50,000 and $100,000 accounted for 21%, and 1% exceeded $100,000.

The most common bank types used for wire transfer mule accounts were major US banks (31.0%), regional US banks (28.0%), and specialty banks (12.0%).

BEC PAYROLL DIVERSIONS

During July 2026, the most common bank types used for payroll diversion mule accounts were regional US banks (14.0%), online banks (12.0%), and specialty banks (8.0%).

The top banks used in payroll diversion attacks during July included SoFi Bank (18%), Bank of Montreal (14%), and Cross River Bank (12%), among 49 total banks identified.

BEC INFRASTRUCTURE

In July 2026, 59% of BEC attacks were sent from free webmail providers, while 41% originated from maliciously registered domains. The use of free webmail decreased compared to 72% in June 2026.

Among registered domain providers, Google was the most prevalent, accounting for 69% of the 823 maliciously registered domains identified, followed by Microsoft and 11 Mail Media Inc..

For free webmail providers, the top three services used were NameCheap, NameSilo, and Dynadot, collectively representing 43% of all free webmail-based attacks.

BEC ATTACK LOCATIONS

Geographic analysis of BEC attacks during July 2026 revealed that United States was the primary source, accounting for 62% of all attacks, followed by Nigeria with 18%.

¹ Attacker locations are identified IP addresses collected by beacons that are inserted into our communications with BEC actors. IP addresses that are overtly associated with VPNs or other proxies are removed from this dataset; however, there is still a possibility that a device associated with an IP address could be used as a proxy in other ways, so the location (particularly for those outside West Africa) cannot be deemed completely definitive.