The Singapore Police Force (SPF) would like to remind members of the public to remain vigilant against Government Official Impersonation Scams that impersonate officers from the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO) of the Commercial Affairs Department under SPF [1]. Since April 2025, there were at least 20 cases reported with total losses amounting to at least $408,000.
In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited calls (including WhatsApp video calls) from scammers impersonating officers from STRO. Over the video calls, scammers may present fake warrant cards (or similar identification document), wear “police uniform”, or display police crest in the background to appear legitimate. Scammers may even introduce themselves using names retrieved from publicly available information of actual police officers.
The scammers would claim that victims were involved in criminal activities (e.g. money laundering) and required to be investigated. For victims who have previously fallen victim to other scams, the scammers may reference the earlier scam incidents or transactions and falsely claim that they oversaw the investigation. In some cases, the scammers would first pretend to be bank representatives and claimed that victims had conducted suspicious banking or financial transactions (e.g. transactions made on credit card applied by victim), before transferring them to other scammers impersonating STRO for investigation. To lend credence to their deceit, the scammers may provide fake official documents such as “STRO report” and “Anti-Money Laundering warrant” via WhatsApp.
The scammers would instruct victims to perform monetary transactions for investigation purposes, such as transferring money to bank accounts (“safety accounts”) supposedly designated by the government, handing over cash to unknown subjects (e.g. “officer”, “inspector”, “undercover agent”), or performing cryptocurrency-related transfers.
Victims would realise that they had been scammed when the scammers asked for more money to be deposited or when they sought verification with the SPF.
We would like to remind members of the public to NEVER transfer monies, hand monies or other valuables to any unknown persons or persons whose identity you did not verify. NEVER place monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection. In the course of its work, STRO will NEVER make unsolicited calls to members of the public to accused them of laundering money, or threaten them with warrants for their arrest, or share “STRO reports” via WhatsApp.
We would also like to inform members of the public that Singapore Government officials, including officers from STRO will never ask members of the public to do the following things over a phone call:
- Ask you to transfer money;
- Ask you to disclose banking log-in details;
- Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; or
- Transfer your call to Police
Members of the public are also encouraged to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD – Add the ScamShield App to block calls and filter SMSes. Set transaction limits that are adequate for daily expenses, and lower transaction notification thresholds. Alert the bank immediately of any suspicious activity in your bank account. Activate the Money Lock feature of your bank to “lock up” a portion of your money so that it cannot be transferred out digitally by anyone.
- CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield App. Call and check with the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
- TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends if or when you encounter scams. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, call your bank immediately to block any fraudulent transactions and make a police report.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
[1]: STRO is Singapore’s Financial Intelligence Unit. STRO receives suspicious transaction reports and other financial information such as cash movement reports and cash transaction reports and analyses them to detect money laundering, terrorism financing and other serious crimes.
Screenshots of fake STRO reports and Anti-Money Laundering warrant provided by scammers via WhatsApp
Screenshots of fake STRO reports
Screenshot of fake Warrant of Anti-Money Laundering
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 August 2025 @ 10:46 AM