PUBLISHED ONFebruary 21, 2026 12:15 AMBYSean LerIf you find yourself receiving unsolicited calls from scammers claiming that you have outstanding insurance premiums or had performed bank card transactions, do not hand over your valuables for purported "investigation purposes".
In this scam variant, victims who deny the claims would be transferred to other scammers impersonating as government officials from the Monetary Authority (MAS) of Singapore or Ministry of Law, said the Singapore Police Force in an advisory on Feb 20.
These victims would then be accused of being involved in criminal activities such as money laundering, and provided with fake documents such as a "warrant of arrest" or "financial inspection order".
The victims were then instructed to hand over their valuables to unknown subjects, purportedly for "investigation purposes".
These items were either newly purchased by the victims, acting on the scammers' instructions, or owned by them.
They would only realise that they have been scammed when the scammers become uncontactable, or when they sought verification with the relevant agencies.
The modus operandi described is not new, and has been widely reported by local media.
Members of the public are reminded to never transfer or hand over monies, cryptocurrencies or other valuables to unknown persons or to anyone whose identity has not been verified.
They should also not leave monies or valuables at a physical location for subsequent collection.
The police also advised the public not to assume that they are speaking with legitimate government officials simply by verifying the names or credentials provided by scammers on government websites.
"The scammers may abuse publicly available information, such as the names and designations of actual government officials, to perform the impersonation," the police cautioned.
Government officials will never ask members of the public to transfer or hand over valuables, disclose banking log-in details, install mobile apps from unofficial app stores, or transfer calls to the police or any other government officials.
The police also advised members of the public to remain vigilant against government officials impersonation scams involving the physical collection of valuables such as gold bars, gold jewellery, and luxury watches.
Over 18 reports have been lodged so far in February involving these scams, with losses totalling at least $2.9 million, said the police.
The public may verify the authenticity of any calls from MAS at 6225-5577 or via the MAS website. They may also contact the Ministry of Law at 1800-2255-529 or the ministry's enquiry website.
Parliament passed several amendments to Singapore's criminal law on Tuesday (Nov 4), including one that will see scammers subjected to mandatory caning.
Under the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, scammers and those who recruit or participate in scam syndicates face between six and 24 strokes of the cane.
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