The Police would like to alert members of the public to a resurgence of a variant of Government Official Impersonation Scam, where scammers would impersonate officers from government organisations and accuse victims of their involvement in criminal or money laundering activities overseas. Since January 2023, at least 62 victims have fallen prey to such scams, with reported losses amounting to at least $6.9 million.
The scam occurs in the following way:
- Members of the public would receive unsolicited calls from the first scammer who would pretend to be a government officer. The first scammer would allege that the victims had misused their identities to sign up for bank accounts / credit cards / mobile numbers that were eventually involved in money laundering or crime. In some cases, the victims would be notified that the authorities have seized their parcels containing prohibited goods or that they were involved in spreading false rumours.
- The first scammer would then transfer the victim’s call to a second scammer purporting to be a China official. The second scammer would inform the victims that they were under investigation for criminal or money laundering activities. The communication between the second scammer and the victim may subsequently move to messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram. The second scammer would then instruct the victims to do any of the following:
- relinquish bank account details;
- transfer money to a third-party bank account purportedly to assist in investigations;
- open new bank accounts;
- meet unknown subjects to handover / collect / sign fake documents;
- report their whereabouts and told not to divulge details about the investigation.
In some instances, the scammers would trick the victims to isolate themselves in “safe houses” arranged by the scammers so that their family members could not reach them. Victims would be asked to take a video of themselves kidnapped, with their hands tied purportedly to assist with investigations. Unbeknownst to the victims, the scammers would then send the video to their family or legal guardians and demand a ransom.
Victims would realise that they had been scammed when they contact the Police or official channels to check on their cases or when their families contact the Police to report that their child had been kidnapped.
A Singapore government official will not contact you over the phone and accuse you of committing a criminal offence overseas, or connect you with an overseas law enforcement officer as part of the call. The public is advised to ignore such calls. The public is also advised that overseas law enforcement agencies have no legal powers to require members of the public in Singapore to assist in their investigations without the approval of the Singapore Government. Demands by overseas officials to disclose your banking details, deliver or receive documents, report your whereabouts or go into hiding and take videos to assist in their investigations should be ignored. No government agencies will ask for the control of your bank accounts, ask you for your bank account passwords or require you to transfer your money to another bank account.
The Police would like to advise members of the public to adopt the following precautionary measures:
- ADD - ScamShield App and set security features (e.g., enable two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication for banks, social media, Singpass accounts; set transaction limits on internet banking transactions). Do not send or transfer money to anyone whom you do not know or have not met in person before.
- CHECK - For scam signs and with official sources (e.g., visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688). Beware of phone calls from unknown numbers (with or without the “+” prefix) and refrain from giving out personal information and bank details to callers over the phone. Government agencies will not ask for your bank account usernames and passwords.
- TELL - Authorities, family, and friends about scams and do not be pressured by the caller to act impulsively. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688. Fighting scams is a community effort. Together, we can ACT Against Scams to safeguard our community!
Annex A
Screenshots of WhatsApp messages between the scammer and victim ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
15 April 2023 @ 11:15 AM