Webinar | Practical tips to deal with business email compromise

Organised crime is the third-largest economy globally, with an estimated value of US$10.5 trillion in 2025. Only the economies of the USA and China are larger. The Department of Statistics recently reported that 566,000 South Africans were victims of cybercrime in the preceding year. Many fall victim to business email compromise (BEC). We have had many victims approach us for help. We have also had many organisations ask us to help them defend themselves against the victim claiming the stolen money from them. It is often hard to recover the money from the criminal, and that is when the blame game starts. The victim often wants to claim the money back from an organisation that they claim failed to protect their personal information and therefore enabled a cybercriminal to steal their money. This is why BEC is a cybersecurity, cybercrime and data protection issue.

BECs have become increasingly sophisticated, and cybercriminals dupe victims into disclosing sensitive information to control payments and bank accounts. AI provides better tools that enable these crimes. Some companies have lost millions, faced bankruptcy and suffered reputational damage as a result. In this webinar, we focus on practical actions you can take to help prevent this from happening to your organisation.

Yes, we have cybercrime laws (like the Cybercrimes Act), but you should take action to prevent your organisation from becoming a victim. You should also take steps to ensure your organisation protects personal information so it cannot be held liable for the victim’s loss.

This webinar equips you with practical knowledge and tools to build strong defences and keep your business safe.

Join the webinar to hear from legal experts on BEC.

Outcomes of the BEC webinar

• Get clued up on BEC scams by learning how they work and the different tricks cybercriminals use.
• Reduce the risk of BEC attacks by learning what preventative actions you can take and how to spot suspicious emails.
• Learn how to respond to a BEC attack on your business by understanding the right actions to take.

Why attend

We share the practical action you can take.

• Safeguard your organisation’s finances from fraudulent transactions.
• Uphold your business reputation by preventing email compromise.
• Empower your employees to identify and report suspicious emails effectively by knowing what to look for.
• Stay informed about evolving BEC tactics and best practices for defence by hearing from experts.

Who should attend?

Representatives from organisations of all sizes, SMEs and enterprises. Cybercriminals don’t discriminate, and anyone can face a claim for damages by a victim. POPIA gives victims civil remedies. Organisations that have a duty of care, including law firms, legal practitioners, real estate companies, financial institutions, healthcare providers, medical companies, and ECSPs.

• GRC professionals
• Information officers and their deputies
• Business owners and managers
• Finance and accounting professionals
• Procurement and vendor risk management teams
• People responsible for making and receiving payments in organisations
• Cybersecurity personnel
• Anyone responsible for protecting sensitive information

All candidate legal practitioners should also attend because this is one of the topics they are tested on in the admission exams.

Panel

Mark Heyink: In addition to his law degrees and information management studies, Mark qualified as a Certified Information Security Systems Professional in 2004 (one of the few lawyers worldwide to hold this certification), giving him deep expertise and experience in cybersecurity law compliance. Mark has also helped many victims of BEC.

John Giles has years of experience engaging with large organisations and has a particular skill at distilling what practical actions to take to ensure your organisation manages risks in line with laws and regulations.

You can read our insights on BEC. We have created a module on Dealing with Business Email Compromise (BEC) in our programmes. Michalsons have extensive experience with email law. 

Bookings

This event is hosted on Zoom.

Please note that we do not allow AI meeting assistants to attend our webinars.

Members:

This event is free for members of the Michalsons programmes.  They can register for the event by clicking on the red register button.

Non-member:

Investment: R742

Secure your spot now for our workshop by registering today.