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Command Brief / CB-168

The relationship does not have to be fake: why the circle is the target

They Befriend Your Assistant, Not You

The intelligence

The FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, released in April 2026, recorded billions lost to business email compromise and to investment fraud built on online relationships. This brief asks why a hostile approach aimed at a principal may never contact the principal, and what control holds when the relationship being used is genuine. Built from threat-intelligence reporting on persona campaigns, Justice Department case records and the FBI report. For family offices deciding how far protection should reach beyond the principal.

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Topics

Social EngineeringHousehold & StaffThreat Doctrine
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