A 70-year-old Singaporean woman has lost S$16,500 to scammers who convinced her she was under investigation for fraud.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman, named Lee, fell victim to a syndicate that claimed to be officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
On 10 July, Lee received a text message stating that her “UnionPay insurance” was about to expire.
The message warned that S$750 would be automatically deducted from her savings account each month for 24 months.
Worried about unauthorised deductions, Lee contacted the number in the message. She insisted she had never purchased such insurance.
The scammer then claimed that Lee was involved in a fraud case and must follow instructions to clear her name or face severe consequences.
The caller asked Lee for her personal details, including whether she lived alone, how many bank accounts she held, and her total savings.
Retiree told to verify cash with serial numbers and hand over money using secret code
Upon learning that Lee lived alone, the scammer told her to withdraw all her savings to assist in the “investigation”.
When Lee questioned why she needed to surrender her money, she was told the serial numbers on her banknotes would be verified to check if the funds were illegal.
Believing the story, Lee withdrew S$7,500 in cash from two banks on 12 July.
She offered to hand over the money at the bank, but the scammer insisted she return to her residential block instead.
To ensure secrecy, they agreed on a code word—“900”. Lee was instructed to give the cash only to someone who said this code.
When Lee arrived at her block, she spotted a man waiting near a rubbish chute.
The man approached her, said “900”, and she handed over the cash. He left immediately after taking the money.
Two days later, the scammers demanded another payment. Lee withdrew S$9,000 more and repeated the handover in a similar manner.
In total, Lee lost S$16,500 before realising she had been deceived.
She attempted to contact the scammers again but found they had disappeared. She reported the matter to the police the following day.
In response to media queries, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed that a report has been lodged and investigations are ongoing.
At least S$6.7 million lost in government official impersonation scams since June
This incident is part of a larger trend of government officer impersonation scams targeting the public.
In a statement on 2 July, the SPF revealed that since June 2025, at least 80 such cases involving face-to-face collection of cash or gold bars have been reported.
The total losses are estimated at no less than S$6.7 million.
In these scams, fraudsters pose as officials from banks like DBS, insurance firms such as NTUC Income or UnionPay, or government agencies.
They falsely claim victims carried out unauthorised transactions or that their personal information is tied to fraud.
Victims are then connected to fake officers pretending to be from MAS, the SPF, the Ministry of Law, or foreign authorities like the China Police.
These fake officers accuse victims of money laundering and demand full cooperation.
Victims are told to withdraw cash, buy gold bars, or hand over valuables to strangers for fake investigations.
Most realise the scam only when the fraudsters disappear or after verifying with the authorities.
The SPF has stressed that Singapore government officials will never ask for money transfers, banking credentials, or app downloads over the phone.
They remind the public to never hand over cash or valuables to strangers or leave such items unattended for collection.
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