Singapore has lost over S$650,000 to fake friends scams since April

Note: This article was written by Angelica Ang and first appeared in The Straits Times on 26 May 2025.

Since April, victims have lost at least $653,000 to fake friends scams in Singapore.

At least 187 cases of this nature have been reported in that time, the police said in a press statement on May 26, marking a resurgence of this scam type.

In these cases, victims would receive unsolicited WhatsApp messages or phone calls from local mobile lines, from scammers claiming to be their friend.

The scammer would ask the victim to guess their identity, before assuming the name of the said friend, and asking the victim to update their contact details.

Subsequently, scammers would contact the victims, asking them for loans, or to help them perform a banking transaction. Victims would then be provided with a local bank account, PayNow number or QR code to transfer money to.

They would discover that they had been scammed after contacting their actual friends or acquaintances whom the scammers had impersonated, or when their loan was not returned.

The police advises members of the public to be wary of anyone who contacts them via an unknown number to ask for urgent loans, and not to accede to their request unless their identity has been adequately verified.

To learn more about scams, members of the public can visit http://www.scamshield.gov.sg/ or call the 24/7 ScamShield hotline at 1799.

Those with more information about such scams can also call the police at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at http://www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.

Source: The Straits Times

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