SINGAPORE \u2013 At least $6.1 million has been lost over about seven months to scammers posing as officials from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) or China.<\/p>\n
These losses stem from at least 72 cases reported since January, said the police in a statement on Aug 14, as they warned of a surge in such scams.<\/p>\n
In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited calls from scammers posing as ICA officials.<\/span><\/a> The scammers would claim that the victims\u2019 details have been misused or that their phone numbers have been linked to criminal activities, such as spreading false rumours or transmitting scam messages.<\/p>\n When the victims deny such involvement, the calls would be transferred to another scammer pretending to be an official from China. This fake official would demand that money be transferred to bank accounts to facilitate investigations or to be used for bail.<\/p>\n In some cases, victims may be instructed to withdraw and hand over cash.<\/p>\n The ruse is up after the scammers become uncontactable, or after victims seek verification from the relevant government agencies.<\/p>\n The police advised people not to transfer or hand over money or valuables to unknown individuals whose identities have not been verified, and not to place money or valuables at a physical location for subsequent collection.<\/p>\n They said government officials would never ask the public to transfer money, obtain loans from licensed moneylenders, disclose banking details or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores over the phone. They also would not transfer your call to the police or other government officials.<\/p>\n \u201cDo not trust unsolicited communications, even if the caller appears to have (your) personal information,\u201d the police added.<\/p>\n If in doubt, call the ScamShield helpline on 1799 to check.<\/p>\n Scams have cost victims in Singapore more than $4 billion since 2019<\/span><\/a>. Of this amount, the police have recovered about $140.5 million.<\/p>\n Annual police statistics show government official impersonation scams have been on the rise, with 3,363 reported cases resulting in losses totalling $242.9 million in 2025. This is compared with the 1,504 reported cases in 2024, and 893 cases in 2023.<\/p>\n The financial losses in 2025 are second only to those of investment scams, which saw $336.2 million lost that same year.<\/p>\n