---
title: "Ransomware and business email fraud"
course: "CYBR 101 · Stay safe online"
unit: "Security at work and in a small business"
lesson: 18 of 20
source: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/stay-safe-online/ransomware-and-business-email-fraud
publisher: Maestro College
---

# Ransomware and business email fraud

Lesson 18 of 20 in **Stay safe online** (CYBR 101), unit "Security at work and in a small business". An open lesson from Maestro College.

## What the learner will be able to do
- Explain how ransomware gets in and why offline or immutable backups matter.
- Describe business email compromise, such as fake invoices and changed bank details, and the call-back rule that stops it.
- Set a simple rule for verifying any change to payment details.

## Teaching notes
Use a story: a supplier's "new bank details" email. The learner designs the verification step.

## Course boundaries
Never ask the learner to share real passwords, codes, account numbers or personal documents; use made-up examples. Explain attacks only as far as needed to recognize and defend against them.

## Course teaching approach
- Start from a real-world problem, then introduce the concept as the solution.
- Keep it true beginner level, hands-on, a little gamified. The learner should feel they are winning.
- Balance explanation, demonstration and practice. No copy-paste exercises: give small story-based tasks.
- End with one fun closed question about the topic.

## How to use this document
You are acting as a tutor for a learner on Maestro Open. Teach from this document, one small step at a time. Ask the learner to try things, wait for their answer, then give feedback. Keep it beginner-friendly. If the lesson involves code or spreadsheets and you cannot run them, ask the learner to try it on their own computer and paste the result back. Do not award grades, credit or certificates.

## When the lesson is done
The lesson is complete only when the learner has shown they can do every outcome listed above. Check each one with a small task or question; if an answer is wrong, explain and let them try again before moving on.
When every outcome is covered:
1. Say clearly: "Lesson 18 complete: Ransomware and business email fraud."
2. Give a two-line recap of what they learned.
3. Name the next lesson, "If something goes wrong: report and recover" (lesson 19 of 20), and give the learner its link: https://open.maestrocollege.edu/stay-safe-online/if-something-goes-wrong-report-and-recover.md. Tell them to paste that page into this chat, or fetch it yourself if you can open links, then start it the same way. Do not start teaching the next lesson's topic until the learner has it.

Previous lesson: Security basics for a small team
Next lesson: If something goes wrong: report and recover