The Police would like to alert members of the public to remain vigilant against job scams that involve messaging platforms (i.e., WhatsApp, Telegram) and physical handing over of cash. Since 1 August 2025, there have been at least 122 reported cases, with total losses amounting to at least $1.3 million.
In this scam variant, the victims would first be added to WhatsApp group chats and subsequently redirected to join Telegram group chats offering job opportunities related to boosting of social media pages or e-commerce listings. The victims would be asked to carry out tasks such as liking and subscribing to YouTube channels/videos, liking products on Shopee, or liking shops/pages such as JD.com. Victims would receive small commissions for completing the tasks. After the victims were convinced that the job opportunities were legitimate and that they could earn more commissions, the scammers would introduce more rewarding tasks to them. The victims would then be asked to create accounts on scam websites and transfer increasingly large sums of monies over a period, via PayNow to bank accounts or crypto wallets provided by the scammers. After a few rounds of transfers, some of the victims would be instructed to physically hand over cash to unknown persons. In some cases, the scammers would claim that the victims had made mistakes on the tasks and request for further payment to rectify them.
The victims would only realise that they had been scammed when their website accounts showed negative account balances and were told to pay additional funds to “upgrade their accounts”, when they failed to withdraw their “earnings”, or when the scammers became uncontactable.
Members of the public are strongly advised to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD - the ScamShield app and set security features (e.g., activate the privacy function on WhatsApp which disallows unknown users from adding you into group chats. To do so, go to Settings > Privacy > Groups and select the privacy options “My Contacts” or “My Contacts Except..”.)
- CHECK – for scam signs with official sources or websites. 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. Do NOT accept dubious job offers that offer lucrative returns for minimal effort. 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.
- TELL - 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. 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!
Annex
Screenshots of groupchats with scammers, social media boosting tasks and fraudulent accounts created
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
29 August 2025 @ 9:20 PM