Landing page banner

The Police would like to alert members of the public to be vigilant against a variant of social media impersonation scams involving compromised WhatsApp accounts. Since September 2026, at least eight cases have been reported with total losses amounting to at least $18,000.

In this scam variant, scammers would gain access to students' WhatsApp accounts and impersonate them to contact their parents. Posing as the students, the scammers would claim that they had been selected for a youth exchange programme or AI-related course and request payment to secure a place. To lend credibility to the scam, victims were provided with consent forms bearing the names and logos of educational institutions and government agencies. Some of them were told that the programme fees would be subsidised and subsequently refunded. Victims were then instructed to make payment via PayNow QR codes. In some cases, the victims were deceived into making additional payments on the pretext that the initial payment had been processed incorrectly and would be refunded. The victims only realised that they had been scammed after verifying the requests with their children or receiving alerts from their banks.

The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:

1. ADD - Add the ScamShield app to block scam calls and filter suspicious SMSes. Enable the “Two-Step Verification” feature on WhatsApp by going to “Settings” > “Account” > “Two-Step Verification”. Regularly check the devices linked to your WhatsApp account by going to “Settings” > “Linked Devices”, and log out of any device that you do not recognise.
   
   
2. CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield Helpline (1799). Verify unusual requests for money directly with your family member and confirm the legitimacy of programmes or payment requests with the relevant educational institution through official channels before making any payment.
   
   
3. TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, contact your bank immediately to report and block any fraudulent transactions, and lodge a Police report.

Anyone with information on such scams may call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial '999'. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to keep our community safe.

Annex A

Screenshots of Conversations between Scammers and Victims