BMA Public Warning – Fraudulent Demand for Payment (2026-07-22)

Summary

This is a public warning notice from the Bermuda Monetary Authority alerting regulated entities and the public to a fraudulent email impersonating the BMA. The fraudulent email demanded a US $50,000 payment, purportedly an administrative fine, to be made in USDC to a digital wallet. It is an informational alert rather than a rule change, but it reminds recipients of correct verification practices.

• Nature of scam: An email purporting to be from the BMA demanded a US $50,000 payment for an alleged regulatory breach, to be paid in USDC to a digital wallet.
• Genuine payment channel: The BMA states that legitimate payment information is published in its Annual Fees document on the Authority's website; any instruction to pay another account or institution should be treated as fraudulent.
• Email verification: Genuine BMA emails will always use the domain '@bma.bm'; recipients should verify the sender address before acting on any email content.
• Verification steps: If in doubt, do not open attachments or trust contact details in a suspicious email; instead call a known representative or the BMA's main number (441) 295-5278 to verbally confirm the communication.
• Warning list: The web domain used in the fraudulent email has been added to the BMA's public warning list of unauthorised entities.

Queries about legitimate payments to the Authority should be directed to finance-receivables@bma.bm.

Key obligations

• Regulated entities and the public should verify any BMA email address is on the '@bma.bm' domain before responding or acting on its content
• Recipients should not act on payment instructions directing funds to accounts other than those specified in the BMA's published Annual Fees document
• If in doubt about a communication's authenticity, recipients should not open attachments or use contact details in the suspicious email, and should instead verify via a known contact or the BMA's main phone number

Applies to

regulated entities