SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man was caught at Woodlands Checkpoint on Tuesday (Aug 11) allegedly with items such as fake employee passes and official-looking stamps believed to be for the purposes of carrying out scams.
The 23-year-old was found with inking instruments bearing the emblems of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Home Affairs when he was directed by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers for enhanced checks at the arrival bus hall at the checkpoint. Several fake employee passes bearing his photograph were also found on him.
Investigations revealed that he had no employment history with any of the organisations whose passes were found on him, said the police in a statement on Aug 12.
“Such counterfeit passes and official-looking instruments are tactics commonly employed by scammers to lend credibility to their operations, deceiving victims into believing they are dealing with representatives of a legitimate organisation,” said the police.
The man is set to be charged in court on Aug 13 with the offence of making or possessing a counterfeit instrument with intent to commit forgery.
The offence carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.
According to annual scam and cybercrime statistics from the police, the number of government officials impersonation scams more than doubled to 3,363 cases in 2025 from 1,504 cases in 2024.
The amounts lost due to this scam type increased by 60.5 per cent to about S$243 million, the second-highest among all scam types in 2025.
Overall, Singapore has lost more than $4 billion to scams since 2019, with losses amounting to $913.1 million in 2025. Of this amount, the police have recovered about $140.5 million.
In the statement on Aug 12, the police advised the public to:
>Ask as many questions as needed to understand any investment opportunity being presented. If the company is unable or unwilling to answer your questions, treat this as a warning sign.
>Research the company, its owners, directors and management to assess whether the investment opportunity is genuine.
>Verify the credentials of the company and its representatives using available resources, including the Financial Institutions Directory, Register of Representatives and Investor Alert List on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s website.
>Ensure that any mobile applications you download are legitimate and available on official app stores.
>Check user reviews and ratings of applications before downloading them, even if they appear legitimate and are available on official app stores.
>Verify the authenticity of court orders via the Authentic Court Orders portal, using the unique QR code or access code found on the court order.
>Verify the authenticity of court documents through the official contact channels listed on the Singapore Courts’ website.
Anyone with information on potential scams can call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness
All information will be kept strictly confidential, said the police. - The Straits Times/ANN
