Small businesses are being urged to stay vigilant for email compromise scams, and to report suspicious emails to the police, after a Victorian family business almost lost $118,000 to fraudsters.
The furniture business, which is located in Melbourne’s Bayside area, was tricked into transferring the six-figure sum into a scammer’s bank account, after they impersonated one of the business’ suppliers.
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The scam took place in September this year, after a staff member at the business, referred to as Kate by Victoria Police, received a number of legitimate emails from the supplier to organise a $118,000 order of outdoor furniture.
The scammers were able to intercept the email thread to impersonate the supplier, and sent additional emails that said their bank account details had changed.
They told Kate the payment was urgent and pressured her into transferring the funds.
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However, Kate’s bank alerted her to the potential fraud, which she then confirmed by contacting the supplier directly.
Kate notified Victoria Police, which were able to block the transaction with support from the Joint Policing Cybercrime Co-ordination Centre (JPC3) based at the Australian Federal Police, and the funds were returned to the business.
“I thought I’d lost the money for good and it would’ve had such a devastating impact on our small business. It was a huge relief the police were able to help and get the money back for me,” said Kate in a statement provided to SmartCompany.
Latest business email compromise scam hits hundreds
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Kate’s business fell prey to a business email compromise scam that Victoria Police says is operating across the country.
As the business discovered, the scam involves fraudsters targeting businesses and their suppliers via seemingly legitimate emails that have a false sense of urgency.
Victoria Police says its cybercrime squad has received 107 reports of this scam since July.
“We’re seeing this scam target businesses and suppliers right across the state – swindling victims out of thousands of dollars,” commented Cybercrime Squad Detective Sergeant Dean Waters in a statement.
More broadly, the National Anti-Scam Centre’s Targeting Scams Report estimates payment redirection scams accounted for $166.8 million in reported losses in 2025, which makes them the second most costly scam type in Australia after investment scams.
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and Waters urged business owners not to “let a scammer rush you into making a costly mistake”.
“If you receive an unexpected request to redirect a payment after talking to a business or supplier, stop and check it before sending anything through,” he said.
“Contact the business or supplier directly using a trusted phone number to confirm the request is legitimate.
“If you’ve sent money or banking details to a scammer, contact your bank immediately. If you’ve been targeted, we encourage you to make a report to police. The more we know, the more it can help us identify offenders, disrupt their activities and stop others from also falling victim.”
More advice about scams can be found on the Scamwatch website.
Reports about the scam mentioned in this article can be made by calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submitting a confidential online report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.