Singapore Police Alert: Scammers Pose as Government Officials in WhatsApp Calls, S$4.1M Lost

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has issued a public alert over Government Official Impersonation Scams conducted via WhatsApp calls, urging the public to activate the platform’s “Silence Unknown Callers” feature. Since July, the SPF has received at least 61 such case reports, with total losses exceeding S$4.1 million.

Victims typically receive unsolicited WhatsApp calls, including video calls, from scammers posing as representatives of banks, insurance/payment firms, or government agencies. Targets are falsely told they’ve made suspicious financial transactions, hold unpaid insurance premiums, or are under criminal investigation.

Once victims deny involvement, they are transferred to another scammer impersonating a government official from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) or the SPF, who accuses them of criminal activities such as money laundering. Victims are then coerced into transferring funds to so-called “safety accounts,” handing over cash to unknown persons, or conducting cryptocurrency transfers using apps like Coinbase, OKX, or StraitsX—often with email addresses and/or passwords dictated by the scammers. 

Scammers further ask victims to fund the crypto account through bank transfer or PayNow, purchase cryptocurrency, and transfer cryptocurrency to another crypto wallet address provided by scammers.

Authorities stress that Singapore Government officials will never request money transfers, banking credentials, app installations from unofficial sources, or phone call redirections to the “Police”. The public is urged to remain vigilant and verify identities before engaging in any financial action.

In June, the SPF issued a similar advisory warning of scammers impersonating MAS officers and exploiting WhatsApp’s screen-sharing feature to steal victims’ banking credentials.