Some cybercriminals are flipping their playbook on business email compromise (BEC) scams and, rather than posing as vendors seeking payment, are now posing as buyers, taking their profits in easily sold commodities.

By adopting the identity of a known company, criminal actors are able to order various goods in bulk, get beneficial terms of credit, and disappear before the manufacturer discovers the fraud, stated the FBI in a recent advisory on the trend. The scheme has become more common in specific sectors, with targets including construction materials, agricultural supplies, computer technology hardware, and solar-energy systems, according to the agency.