Between January and November 2019, at least 401 reports of China Officials impersonation scams were received, with at least $18.8 million cheated. From August to November 2019, the Police received 242 reports of such scams, with at least $10.8 million cheated. Such scams typically involved scammers impersonating as staff members from courier companies, telecommunication service providers, or officers from government organisations informing victims of the following:

How this scam works:

Such scams typically involved scammers impersonating as staff members from courier companies, telecommunication service providers, or officers from government organisations informing victims of the following:

• A mobile number registered in their name was involved in a crime;
• A parcel under their name containing illegal goods was detained;
• There was a pending case in court against them; and/or
• They had committed a criminal offence and were required to assist in investigations.

The scammer would then direct the victim to provide their personal particulars and bank account details, including internet banking credentials and One-Time Password (OTP) for investigation purposes. In some cases, the call would be transferred to another person who would identify himself as a police officer from China. Victims might be shown a copy of a warrant for their arrest from the China Police and were threatened with imprisonment if they did not cooperate. Subsequently, the victims would discover that monies had been transferred from their bank account to unknown bank accounts.

In another variant of this scam, scammers would instruct victims to scan a QR code and transfer a sum of money using Bitcoin vending machines. There were also some cases where victims were asked to withdraw money from their bank accounts to be handed over to a “Government Officer” for verification purposes. The scammers kept the victims on the phone line to ensure that they did not have the opportunity to verify the authenticity of the call.

Be wary of unsolicited messages or calls, especially if you have not participated in any lucky draw. Ignore any instructions provided by the caller/message sender to make payments by remitting money or purchasing online credits and gift cards. Winning a lucky draw should not require any payments to be made to claim the prize. 

1. Don’t panic – If the call involves a government official, pls note that no government agency will request for transfer of money, personal details or bank account login credentials over the phone. Always call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.

2. Don’t believe – Scammers may use caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual phone number and display a different number. Calls that appear to be from a local number may not actually be made from Singapore. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait a while, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.

3. Don’t give – Do not provide your name, identification number, passport details, contact details, bank account or credit card details, and One-Time-Password (OTP) to anyone. Such information is useful to criminals.