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The Police would like to remind members of the public to stay vigilant against government officials impersonation scams, where the scammers instruct victims to hand over money obtained through loans from licensed moneylenders. Since 1 June 2026, there have been at least five cases reported with total losses amounting to at least $252,000. This scam variant is concerning as the victims tend to not only lose their savings but also end up in debt.

In these cases, the victims would receive unsolicited calls from scammers impersonating representatives from telecommunications companies. The scammers would claim that the victims had signed up for service contracts, registered for mobile phone SIM cards, or purchased new mobile phones. The victims’ calls would then be transferred to another scammer impersonating government officials from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) or the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), who would accuse the victims of being involved in criminal activities.

To facilitate “investigations”, the victims would be instructed to obtain loans from licensed moneylenders. Once the loans were obtained, the victims would be asked to perform bank transfers or cash deposits via an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) to a “safe account”. The victims would only realise that they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or when victims sought verification from the relevant government agencies. 

Members of the public are reminded to: 

1. Never transfer or hand over money and other valuables to any unknown persons, or persons whose identity you did not verify.  
   
   
2. Never place money or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection. 
   
   
3. Never obtain loans from licensed moneylenders based on unsolicited advice from any unknown persons, or persons whose identity you did not verify.

Singapore Government officials, including officials from MinLaw and MAS, will never do the following:

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

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 banking transactions).
   
   
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!