In October, the Singapore Police Force received a report that someone had been scammed of $1.1 million in just one week. Responding swiftly, the Police investigated and have arrested at least 24 people for their suspected involvement in the scam and are investigating another nine. Based on preliminary investigation, the scam was a Government Officials Investigation Scam (GOIS) with individuals posing as officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
How The $1.1 Million MAS Official Impersonation Scam Worked
On the 14th of October, the victim received an unsolicited call from a scammer claiming to be from M1. This scammer claimed the victim had an existing M1 mobile plan contract, which the victim denied. The scammer then offered to terminate the contract and refer the matter to MAS for investigation of a supposed information leak.
The victim was then contacted by more scammers, each claiming to be an MAS official. They told the victim that a bank account under his name was frozen and that he needed to surrender his funds and valuables for investigative purposes. He did so via four methods:
- Purchased approximately $350,000 worth of gold bars and handed them to a scammer
- Transferred approximately $124,900 worth of cryptocurrency to specified cryptocurrency addresses
- Transferred more than $600,000 through over 60 YouTrip QR codes
- Transferred approximately $26,500 to a PayNow number linked to a local bank account
On at least two occasions, the victim’s bank had contacted the victim regarding suspicious transfers flagged for verification. Unfortunately, the victim had already been coached by the scammers on how to respond to the bank, by claiming the transferred funds were intended for investment and gifts.
It was only on 22 October, after the victim had transferred $26,500 to a PayNow account and tried to make a second fund transfer to the same account, that OCBC identified the suspicious transaction pattern, alerted the Police Anti-Scam Centre, who successfully convinced the victim that he had fallen prey to a scam.
Not A New Scam Tactic
The victim was not the only one who had lost money to this scam tactic. According to the Police, there were at least 13 such cases in September, totalling a loss of $362,000.
In many of these cases, the victims were initially contacted by scammers regarding existing M1 mobile plans in their name. When they denied having these subscriptions, they would be contacted by scammers posing as MAS officials. The false MAS official would claim that the victims’ details were being used for criminal activities such as money laundering and fraud, and that they would need to conduct monetary transactions to support the investigation.
Similar variants of the government official impersonation scam have been ongoing for months. There were at least 80 such cases in June 2025, totalling a loss of $6.7 million.
Read Also: 5 Types Of New Scams Singaporeans Need To Be Careful To Avoid
What We Can Do To Protect Ourselves Against Government Official Impersonation Scams
Government Official Impersonation Scams are on the rise. At least $151.3 million were lost to scammers last year, and $126.5 million in the first half of this year, according to the latest statistics released by the Police. The number of cases reported almost tripled. There were 1,762 cases in the first half of 2025, compared to 589 cases in the same period last year.
These scammers prey on the trust Singaporeans have in authority figures, as well as our tendency to comply with instructions. They tend to appear credible because they have our full names and NRIC numbers. Furthermore, they use various tactics to lower our guard, either by evoking fear, creating a sense of urgency, or coming across as sincere in wanting to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
To protect ourselves, it is important to remember that Government officials, including those from MAS, will never ask anyone to do the following over a phone call:
- Transfer money
- Disclose banking login details
- Install mobile apps from unofficial app stores
- Transfer the call to the Police
In general, we should never transfer or hand money or valuables over to people we do not know or cannot verify the identity of. We should never place money or valuables at a physical location for others to collect. Finally, we should never share our device screens with anyone we do not know or cannot verify the identity of.
If you suspect you have been the target of a scam, you can report it to the Police by calling the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submitting information online via the Police website.
Read Also: Most Common Scams in Singapore In 2024 – How Singaporeans Can Protect Themselves
