SINGAPORE: Be on alert for scams where fraudsters pretend to be telco staff from Simba before patching victims through to fake government officials to trick them into transferring large sums of money.
At least S$1.3 million has been lost to this tactic in October alone, with 59 cases reported within the month, said the police in a news release on Thursday (Oct 29).
In this type of scam, victims typically receive unsolicited calls from someone claiming to be from Simba, with the caller falsely alleging that the victims have purchased iPhones or subscribed to the telco’s mobile plans or packages.
When the victims deny making these transactions, the calls are transferred to another scammer posing as a customer service staff member from Simba, who then claims the victims’ details have been misused for purchases and that further investigations are required.
From there, the calls are then transferred to other scammers posing as police officers or officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Victims are then instructed to transfer money to unknown bank accounts or physically hand over cash or valuables, such as jewellery or luxury watches, to the purported officers.
Many victims realised they had been scammed only when the fraudsters became uncontactable, or when they contacted government agencies directly to verify the claims.
In one case, a single victim transferred a total of $285,000 to the scammers.
Scams involving Simba have been on the rise.
On Oct 21, the police issued an advisory warning of an uptick in phishing scams impersonating the telco through search engine results, with more than $83,000 lost across at least 62 cases since March.
Police statistics show that scams remain the dominant crime type in Singapore, with $410.6 million lost to these ruses in the first half of 2026.
Eight in 10 victims are still being manipulated into handing funds over to scammers, with seniors aged 65 and above suffering the highest losses on average across all age groups.
The police reiterated that government officials in Singapore will never ask you to transfer money, valuables or cryptocurrency, and will not transfer calls to the police or other government officials.
The authorities will also never ask the public to take out loans from moneylenders, disclose banking login details or install mobile apps from unverified app stores.
Members of the public should also be wary of unsolicited calls claiming that they have made purchases or transactions that they do not recognise, the police added.
Those who receive such calls should verify the caller’s claims directly with the relevant businesses or the authorities through official channels.
Anyone with doubts or scam-related queries should call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline on 1799.
For information on scams, go to www.scamshield.gov.sg
- The Straits Times/ANN
