Landing page banner

The Police would like to remind members of the public to remain vigilant against Government Officials Impersonation Scams involving the physical collection of valuables (e.g., gold bars, gold jewellery, and luxury watches). Since February 2026, at least 18 reports were lodged with total losses amounting to at least $2.9 million.

In this scam variant, the victims would receive unsolicited calls from scammers impersonating as representatives from insurance / financial institutions or retailers. The scammers would claim that the victims had outstanding premiums for insurance policies or had performed bank card transactions. When the victims denied the claims, they would be transferred to other scammers impersonating as government officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or Ministry of Law (MinLaw). 

The victims would be accused of being involved in criminal activities (e.g., money laundering) and were provided with fake documents such as a 'warrant of arrest' or 'financial inspection order'. The victims were instructed to hand over their valuables  to unknown subjects for purported “investigation purposes”. These items were either newly purchased by the victims upon the scammers’ instructions or already owned by the victims. The victims would only realise that they had been scammed when the scammers become uncontactable or when they seek verification with the relevant agencies. 

Members of the public must NEVER transfer or hand over monies, cryptocurrencies or other valuables to unknown persons or to anyone whose identity you have not verified. NEVER leave monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection. 

The Police would also like to remind members of the public to stay vigilant and not assume that they are speaking with legitimate government officials simply by verifying the names or credentials provided by scammers on government websites. The scammers may abuse publicly available information, such as the names and designations of actual government officials, to perform the impersonation. Singapore Government officials, including MAS and MinLaw officers, will never ask members of the public to do the following over a phone call:

1. Ask you to transfer or hand over valuables such as money, luxury watches, gold or cryptocurrency;
   
   
2. Ask you to disclose banking log-in details; 
   
   
3. Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; 
   
   
4. Transfer your call to the Police or any other government officials.

To verify the authenticity of any calls from MAS or MinLaw officers, you may contact MinLaw at 1800 2255 529 or via https://eservices.mlaw.gov.sg/enquiry/, and contact MAS at 6225 5577 or via https://www.mas.gov.sg/contact-us. 

Members of the public are also encouraged to adopt the following precautionary measures:

1. ADD – Add the ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks). 
   
   
2. CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources. You can check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or visit the ScamShield website at www.scamshield.gov.sg. 
   
   
3. TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

If you are in doubt, call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!

Fake “official” documents provided by scammers

Fake warrant of arrest



Fake notice of financial inspection