Singapore Courts warns against fake 'court orders' asking for transfer of money

Come across a "court order" instructing you to transfer money to a bank account to avoid legal action? 

Such instructions are fraudulent and should not be followed, cautioned the Singapore Courts on Monday (March 16). 

In a Facebook post, the Singapore Courts said it has been alerted to a scam variant involving bogus court orders. 

It added that it does not issue orders via WhatsApp or Telegram, and that it does not ask for bank login credentials or fund transfers from members of the public via phone or email. 

Members of the public can verify court orders via the Authentic Court Orders (ACO) portal at www.courtorders.gov.sg.

Any suspicious notices purporting to be from the courts should also be reported to the ScamShield hotline at 1799.

According to the annual scam statistics released by the police in February, the number of government official impersonation scams saw an increase of more than double in 2025 (3,363 cases) compared with 2024 (1,504 cases). 

The amount lost to these scams also increased by 60.5 per cent from $151.3 million in 2024 to $242.9 million in 2025, with a majority of victims aged 65 and above. 

Phone calls and WhatsApp were the most common channels used by these scammers, who would often impersonate local government officers such as those from the Singapore Police Force or the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. 

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dana.leong@asiaone.com