Advisory on Government Officials Impersonation Scams Involving the Impersonation of Officials from the Ministry of Law

23 APR 2026
  1. The Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) and the Singapore Police Force (“SPF”) would like to alert members of the public to cases of Government Officials Impersonation Scams (GOIS) involving the impersonation of MinLaw officials. Since February 2026, at least 98 cases have been reported, with total losses amounting to at least $8.5 million.
  1. In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited calls, messages or emails from unknown persons impersonating staff from telecommunications providers or banks. The unknown persons would inform victims of unauthorised applications for bank cards or telecommunications plans and direct them to other unknown persons purportedly from MinLaw for further assistance. Victims would then be informed of their alleged involvement in criminal activities and instructed to transfer monies to “safety accounts” or hand over valuables to unknown persons for investigation purposes. The unknown persons may also provide the victims with documents that are purportedly from government agencies such as MinLaw, senior public officials, or political office holders (see Annex for sample letters). Victims realised that they had been scammed when the scammers became uncontactable or when they sought verification with MinLaw or SPF.
  1. Members of the public are reminded to:

• Never transfer cash, jewellery, or other valuables to unknown persons whose identity has not been verified.

• Never leave money or valuables at a location to facilitate subsequent collection.

• Never share the screen of your device or disclose login credentials to anyone you do not know.

  1. Singapore Government officials, including MinLaw officials, will never ask members of the public to do the following:

• Ask you to transfer money, luxury watches, gold or crypto-currency over the phone;

• Ask you to disclose banking login details;

• Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; or

• Transfer your call to the Police.

  1. Do not trust unsolicited communications, even if the caller appears to have your personal information. Members of the public are encouraged to adopt the following precautionary measures:

(a) ADD – Add the ScamShield App to protect yourself from scam calls and SMSes. Set security features (e.g., set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks).

(b) CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources. You can check the legitimacy of suspicious messages, phone numbers and website links via the ScamShield app or visit the ScamShield website at www.scamshield.gov.sg.

(c) TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

  1. If in doubt about the authenticity of any communications from MinLaw officials, please contact MinLaw via the online enquiry form at www.go.gov.sg/contactminlaw or call the MinLaw hotline at 1800 2255 529.
  1. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799.

MINISTRY OF LAW
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 APRIL 2026