Police warn of scams involving requests for school fee payments; over $30k in losses reported

Victims have lost at least $38,000 so far after falling prey to scams that involve fraudulent requests for tuition or school fees.

At least 16 of such cases have been reported since August 2025, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on Saturday (Aug 23).

Scammers would approach victims by using compromised school email accounts to ask them for urgent and prompt payment of school or tuition fees.

They would be asked to make payment to a bank account listed in the email and warned that failure to do so would lead to legal consequences.

“Victims would subsequently realise that they had been scammed after checking or receiving notifications from the schools,” said SPF.

In a separate statement on Friday, the Ministry of Education (MOE) had also warned of scam emails targeting students from institutes of higher learning and their parents, asking them to make payment for school fees, reported CNA.

“Those who have transferred money or provided personal information are advised to file a police report and notify their bank immediately,” the ministry was quoted as saying.

“When in doubt, students should verify directly with their institutions or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check.”

In their statement, police said that members of the public are advised to check with the school via official channels before transferring any money, especially for unscheduled payment requests.

They should not use clickable links or QR codes provided by unknown people to make payments or transfers, or to download applications, without first verifying their legitimacy.

Such methods can lead to fake bank websites that phish for banking credentials or malicious software, the police added.

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Chingshijie@asiaone.com