The Singapore Police Force and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) would like to alert members of the public to remain vigilant against scams involving impersonation of staff from Shopee, UnionPay and MAS. Since January 2025, the police have received 12 cases of reports, with total losses amounting to at least S$1.4 million.
In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited calls from a scammer impersonating Shopee staff, informing them that there were recurring fees that would be charged to them, in relation to an insurance policy that they had previously signed up for on the Shopee platform. Victims would then be redirected to a second scammer purporting to be a UnionPay service representative, who would request personal information from the victims, such as bank account details and personal credentials, to verify their policy details. Victims would then be informed that, unless they cancel the policy, the recurring fees would automatically be deducted from their bank accounts linked to the Shopee platform. To effect the ”policy cancellation”, the second scammer would guide the victim to perform bank transfers to a specified bank account for “safe-keeping” through WhatsApp’s screen-sharing function. Throughout the process, victims were given the assurance that their monies would be refunded upon successful cancellation of their policies.
In some cases, victims would be redirected to a second scammer purporting to be an MAS officer. This scammer would inform victims that their bank accounts had been implicated in money laundering activities and they would have to transfer monies to a specified bank account for the purpose of assisting in investigations. The scammer would send screenshots of court orders purportedly from MAS, through WhatsApp, to convince the victims to transfer them the monies.
Victims would only realize that they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable, or when they did not receive the promised refunds.
Shopee and UnionPay would like to remind all users that Shopee and UnionPay will never request personal information or payments through unsolicited phone calls, emails, WhatsApp messages, or SMS. Any such requests should be treated as fraudulent. Users can report suspicious activity immediately via the following channels:
- For Shopee: Shopee’s Support Center > Chat with Shopee > Other Frequently Asked > Account & Fraud.
- For UnionPay: UnionPay’s Help Center > Overseas Service Hotline > Asia > Singapore helpline.
MAS would like to alert members of the public that MAS will never ask you to transfer money, or disclose personal or banking credentials.
We would also like to remind members of the public not to disclose your personal details, send money or share your devices’ screen to unknown persons. Members of the public are encouraged to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD – Add the ScamShield app to block and filter SMSes. Set transaction limits that are adequate for daily expenses, and lower transaction notification thresholds. Alert the bank immediately of any suspicious activity in your bank account. Activate the Money Lock feature of your bank to “lock up” a portion of your money so that it cannot be transferred out digitally by anyone.
- CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield helpline (1799). You can also 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. Never disclose your banking credentials and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to anyone.
- TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends if or when you encounter scams. If you suspect that you have fallen victim to a scam, call your bank immediately to report and block any fraudulent transactions as well as make a police report.
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 A
Screenshots
Screenshot of chatlog between scammer and victim▼
Screenshot of Fake UnionPay documentation▼
Screenshot of court order purportedly from MAS▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
28 February 2025 @ 3:50 PM