At least $362k lost since September: Police warn against scammers impersonating M1, MAS employees

The police have warned members of the public to be wary of calls from people claiming to be M1 or Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) employees as they could be scammers.

At least 13 cases of government official impersonation scams involving MAS and M1 have been reported since September, with total losses amounting to at least $362,000, said the police in an advisory issued on Monday (Oct 6).

Victims would usually receive unsolicited calls, including on WhatsApp, from scammers posing as M1 employees.

The callers would then claim the victims had outstanding payments or mobile phone deliveries linked to existing mobile plans. Upon denying having such subscriptions, victims would be told to contact "customer service" via WhatsApp to terminate them.

Their calls would be connected to another scammer pretending to be an MAS officer, who claimed their personal details had been misused for criminal activities such as money laundering or fraud.

Victims were then instructed to transfer money to what the scammers referred to as "safety accounts", make payments via PayNow or cryptocurrency, or hand over cash to strangers. 

In some cases, they were even told to share their phone screens via WhatsApp while logging into their bank accounts.

The victims realised they had been scammed when the conmen asked for more money, or when they verified the call with the police.

The police stated that members of the public should never transfer money or valuables to unknown individuals, share banking details, or download mobile apps from unofficial sources. 

Government officials, including those from MAS, will never request money transfers or bank logins over the phone, they said.

The police encourages members of the public to visit www.scamshield.gov.sg for more information on scams.

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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com