Financial regulators hit by impersonation scams across the world

Financial regulators have been hit by scammers impersonating their officers, with authorities issuing alerts in Australia, the Cayman Islands, the US, the UK, Hong Kong and Singapore in recent weeks. The UK reportedly lost $151 million to impersonation scams in 2024, according to Nasdaqʼs Financial Crime Report.

Australian financial authorities, including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), are seeing a rise in phone calls purporting to be from their representatives, prompting one scam alert in February and another alert on March 27.

The fraudsters informed their intended victims that ASIC had discovered unauthorised access to their bank accounts, and requested they transfer funds to a “secure” account allegedly “fully insured and created through the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)”. The calls often come from overseas numbers, indicating international operations, said ASIC.

According to the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the country saw 1,504 government official impersonation scams in 2024, alongside losses of S$151.3 million (£86.2 million). The SPF arrested 34 individuals on April 2 for making scam calls pretending to be officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the forceʼs own Anti-Scam Centre (ASC).

Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands have reported crypto-based impersonation scams. In a March 31 notice, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) warned the public about fraudulent communications from people pretending to be their officers, and claiming to be able to assist them with recovery of cryptocurrency, digital assets or other financial transactions.

Data from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data shows an increase in crypto as a payment method from 6% in 2020 to 21% in 2023. The data also indicates a surge in email as a contact method from 10% in 2020 to 26% in 2023 — often these claim that victims have committed a “serious crime” such as money-laundering or drug smuggling, and pretend to fix the supposed problem.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Philadelphia Field Office alerted citizens on March 31 about fake law enforcement scams demanding private information and payments in cryptocurrency or gift cards. “Fraudulent emails may give the appearance of legitimacy by using pictures of the FBI director and/or the FBI seal and letterhead. Common hallmarks of a scam email include misspellings, missing words and incorrect grammar,” said an FBI press release.

Meanwhile, the UKʼs Action Fraud also posted an alert on X on March 26 warning of scammers impersonating HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and offering “tax refunds” via emails, texts, social media accounts and phone calls. Similarly, Ayesha Macpherson Lau, chair of Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), wrote a blog on March 30 warning about MPF-related scams.