SINGAPORE: A 55-year-old woman in Singapore narrowly avoided losing $149,000 after falling victim to a scam involving fraudsters posing as government officials.
The ruse began with a phone call in May 2025 claiming that her credit card had been misused.
The caller, who identified himself as a bank officer, alleged that the woman’s credit card had been used for unauthorised purchases in China, the police said in a news release on Tuesday (10 June).
When she denied making any such transactions, the call was transferred to another scammer pretending to be a police officer.
The fake officer told her she was under investigation for money laundering and threatened her with 60 days’ detention if she did not cooperate.
Fearing arrest, she followed their instructions and, on 24 May 2025, transferred more than $49,000 to a MariBank account.
The scammers falsely assured her that the transfer would not affect her account balance.
MariBank, a digital bank owned by Sea Limited, flagged the transaction as suspicious through its monitoring system and immediately alerted the Anti-Scam Centre (ASC).
ASC officers quickly intervened, engaged with the victim, and successfully convinced her that she had been targeted by scammers.
Swift action by ASC and MariBank led to the recovery of $49,000 and prevented further potential losses of about $100,000.
The police urged the public to stay vigilant and adopt precautionary measures, such as enabling international call blocking on mobile devices, activating two-factor or multifactor authentication for online accounts, and using the ‘Money Lock’ feature on bank accounts to safeguard savings.
Members of the public are also encouraged to verify suspicious claims with official sources, such as the ScamShield Helpline at 1799 or the website www.scamshield.gov.sg.
Personal details—including SingPass credentials, CPF information, internet banking details, and One-Time Passwords (OTPs)—should never be disclosed to unknown parties.
Individuals should also closely monitor transaction alerts sent by their banks.
Anyone who suspects they have fallen victim to a scam should contact their bank immediately to block unauthorised transactions and make a police report.
Suspicious accounts or chat groups should also be reported to the authorities.
According to the Singapore Police Force’s Annual Scams and Cybercrime Brief 2024, there were 1,504 reported cases of government official impersonation scams last year, resulting in at least S$151.3 million in losses.
Victims aged between 50 and 64 formed the largest group, accounting for 28.6 per cent of cases. Scammers primarily contacted victims via phone calls and WhatsApp messages.
For more information or assistance, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
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