Since 2013, the FBI has led the charge against Business Email Compromise (BEC) and money mule threat actors and remains on the forefront of tackling these crimes. The FBI states it will proudly continue to lead the U.S. Government's efforts to combat these threats by educating employees, the public, and private and public sector partners.

In their latest report to Congress, the FBI reported the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) 4A-207 Misdescription of Beneficiary states: 

If the beneficiary's bank does not know that the name and number refer to different persons, it may rely on the number as the proper identification of the beneficiary of the order. The beneficiary's bank does not need to determine whether the name and number refer to the same person. When a diverted wire transfer occurs, the bank does not have to verify the transfer beyond the number. 

In other words, the payee's name and bank account name associated with the bank account number do not have to match. In order to address this shortcoming, the FBI is recommending the UCC 4A-207 be redrafted to require banks to properly identify the name and number of the beneficiary and to determine they are, in fact, the same individual or entity. 

The FBI's recommendation would assist in efforts to reduce wire fraud in real estate transactions.