SINGAPORE: Scam victims have lost at least S$8.5 million to fraudsters posing as officials from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) since February, during which at least 98 cases were reported.
In these cases, victims would receive unsolicited calls, messages or e-mails from unknown people posing as staff from telecommunications providers or banks, said the ministry and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) in a joint release on Thursday (April 23).
The victims would then be informed of unauthorised applications for bank cards or telecommunications plans and be directed to other unknown individuals purportedly from MinLaw for further assistance.
These scammers would inform the victims of their alleged involvement in criminal activities and instruct them to transfer money to “safety accounts” or hand over valuables to unknown people for investigation purposes.
In some cases, the fraudsters would show documents that were purportedly from government agencies such as MinLaw, senior public officials or political office-holders, the ministry said.
“Victims realised that they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or when they sought verification with MinLaw or the SPF.”
The public is reminded that government officials will never ask for money or valuables to be transferred or handed to them over the phone.
They will also never ask the public to disclose banking login details or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer their call to the police.
Those who wish to check the authenticity of any communications with MinLaw officials may contact the ministry via the online inquiry form at go.gov.sg/contactminlaw or call the MinLaw hotline on 1800-2255-529.
The number of scam cases in Singapore fell for the first time in eight years, from more than 50,000 in 2024 to 37,308 in 2025, the police said in their annual scam statistics, released on Feb 25.
Government official impersonation scams were the fifth most common scam type reported in 2025. The number of such scam cases more than doubled from 1,504 cases in 2024 to 3,363 that year. - The Straits Times/ANN
