SINGAPORE – When the chief financial officer of a local healthcare firm was asked by her company’s “chairman” and “managing director” to submit the firm’s financial statements, her instinct was to follow orders.
Unbeknownst to her, scammers were impersonating the company’s superiors over a Microsoft Teams group chat.
Acting on instructions from her “bosses”, she almost transferred $120,000 from the firm’s bank account at the scammers’ behest.
She only realised she had been tricked when she spoke to the real managing director, who denied giving such an instruction.
Recounting this case in July, Jane (not her real name), 72, one of the firm’s directors, said: “Everything happened so quickly. The scammers acted with a sense of urgency that made my colleague anxious to get the job done.
“The instruction was just to ‘do it now’.”
The amount lost to such scams, known as business e-mail compromise scams, rose significantly from $19.5 million in the first half of 2025 to $57.3 million during the same period in 2026.
According to the police’s mid-year scam statistics, the number of business e-mail compromise scam cases rose from 156 in the first half of 2025 to 262 in the first half of 2026.
It was the third scam of concern in terms of amount lost in the first half of 2026.
In such scams, scammers impersonate suppliers, vendors, clients or even senior executives within the company to deceive employees into diverting payments to fraudulent bank accounts.
Overall, scam victims in Singapore lost $410.6 million in the first six months of 2026, with eight in 10 victims being manipulated into handing over their money to scammers.
Tough to reject boss’ request
Jane said the scammers sounded legitimate on the Teams chat and communicated well in English, which made the request more convincing.
She said: “When instructions appear to come from the two most prominent figures in the company, how do you reject that request?”
The scammers failed to get the funds because company protocol called for payment slips to be physically signed for authorisation before any transfers were made.
Said Jane: “If not for that, the $120,000 would have been lost. And the scammers’ next request may be for a larger amount.”
The firm instructed UOB, where the accounts were held, to monitor large transactions and ensure any transfers were made only after proper authorisation.
Carlene Lam, branch manager at UOB, said: “I assured Jane that safeguards were in place and contacted my colleagues in the Risk and Anti-Fraud teams to assess the incident and take the necessary precautions to protect Jane’s organisation, including verifying all payment instructions.”
Daniel Ng, head of group compliance at UOB, said business e-mail compromise scams have evolved beyond traditional e-mails into a broader form of digital impersonation.
“Scammers increasingly exploit messaging, voice and video channels – including AI-enabled impersonation – to pose as trusted executives and trick employees into making fraudulent fund transfers,” he added.
“As these scams become more sophisticated, businesses should treat unexpected or urgent payment instructions with caution and independently verify them through established channels before acting,” Ng said.
Adrian Hia, managing director for Asia Pacific at cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, said business e-mail compromise scams are highly insidious as scammers exploit trusted communication channels that employees use daily.
Hia said such scams are particularly effective as they capitalise on established workplace dynamics and an employee’s inclination to respond quickly to requests from senior leadership, especially those framed as urgent.
He said: “Essentially, the authority associated with a high-ranking executive can work to reduce a recipient’s level of scrutiny and encourage immediate action rather than verification. Business e-mail compromise attacks succeed not only because of technical deception, but because they leverage authority and social workplace expectations.”
Red flags
Hia said warning signs to look out for include:
Unexpected payment requests, especially if they are made without prior notice or fall outside established procedures.
Requests to transfer funds to new or unfamiliar bank accounts, particularly when payment details differ from those previously used.
Instructions to bypass standard approval processes or keep the request confidential from colleagues.
Unusual sign-in links, unsolicited attachments or login prompts when opening a file.
Helplines and online resources
ScamShield Helpline: 1799
National Mindline: 1771 (24 hours) / 6669-1771 (via WhatsApp)