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The Singapore Police Force (SPF) would like to alert members of the public to cases of Government Officials Impersonation Scams, where the scammers instruct victims to conduct cash transfers or deposits via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and/or hand over their bank cards with their Personal Identification Number (PIN) to unknown individuals. Since April 2026, there have been at least 68 cases reported with total losses amounting to at least $5.4 million. 

In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited calls from scammers impersonating representatives from banks or telecommunications companies. The scammers would claim that the victims had unauthorised bank transactions, signed telecommunications service contracts, or purchased new phones. The victims would then be transferred to another scammer claiming to be a government official from the SPF, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), or Ministry of Law (MinLaw) who would then accuse the victims of being involved in criminal activities. 

To assist with “investigations”, victims would be instructed by the scammers to perform cash transfers or deposits via an ATM into a “safe account”. In some cases, the victims were instructed to physically hand over their bank cards and PINs to purported “officers” or “inspectors”. The victims realised they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or when they verified with the relevant government agencies. 

Members of the public are reminded to: 

• Never share sensitive information such as bank card PINs with others.
• Never transfer or handover monies and 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. 

Singapore government officials, including SPF, MAS and MinLaw officers, will never:

• Ask you to transfer or hand over money, luxury watches, gold or cryptocurrency;
• Ask you to disclose banking login details; 
• Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; or 
• Transfer your call to the Police.

Do not trust unsolicited communications, even if the caller appears to have your personal information. Members of the public are encouraged to adopt the following precautionary measures:

• 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). 
  
  
• 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. 
  
  
• 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!