Singapore's ASC and DBS Bank Prevent S$100,000 Loss in Government Official Impersonation Scam

Singapore’s Anti-Scam Centre (ASC), in collaboration with DBS Bank, successfully prevented a government official impersonation scam in April 2025, avoiding a potential financial loss of S$100,000.

According to the Singapore Police Force (SPF), the incident occurred on April 9, when a 64-year-old woman received a call from an individual posing as a bank employee. The caller falsely claimed there had been unauthorized transactions on her credit card. When she denied making these transactions, she was referred to a “staff” member allegedly from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). 

The fake MAS employee informed the woman that she was under investigation for money laundering and instructed her to provide her banking credentials and transfer S$100,000 to a designated bank account, assuring her that the funds would be returned upon completion of the investigation. Trusting the fraudulent claim, she complied with the request.

Before the transaction could proceed, DBS Bank's Anti-Scam team detected the transfer and promptly contacted the woman to verify its purpose. Upon learning that it was for an "investigation," the DBS Bank staff successfully alerted her to the government official impersonation scam.

Realizing that the woman had already disclosed her banking credentials, DBS swiftly escalated the case to the ASC. The ASC coordinated with other banks to temporarily suspend outgoing transactions while the woman filed a police report. Through timely intervention, authorities successfully halted the transfer, preventing the financial loss of S$100,000.

BrokersView urges the public to remain highly vigilant against scams involving impersonations of government employees and financial institutions.