Tech billionaire Forrest Li eyes Singapore football chief position; Woman loses life savings of $1.2m to scammers pretending to be Anti-Scam officers: Singapore live news

A woman lost her life savings of $1.2 million to scammers pretending to be officers from the Anti-Scam Centre. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

A woman lost $1.2 million over two months to a government impersonation scam.

The scammers claimed to be officers from the police’s Anti-Scam Centre (ASC).

Speaking to The Strats Times (ST), the woman (who declined to use her real name) said the scam started on 11 Dec, 2024, when she got a call from a "Jenny" from ASC informing her that her identity card was being misused.

Jane (not her real name) was urged to make a police report and the call was transferred to another person who claimed to be a police officer. He identified himself as "Inspector Yang" and sent Jane a one-time view image of a "police pass".

The one-time image meant it wasn't available anymore after Jane clicked on it.

Jane, who is in her 50s and works in finance, recounted: "I was suspicious and thought he might not be a real police officer. But when I questioned him, he got angry and said, ‘I have the right to suspect you.'"

She was informed by "Inspector Yang" that her identity card was used to open a bank account involved in money laundering, and accused her of receiving a 10 per cent commission.

He also told her to hand over her bank statements and update him on her whereabouts daily via WhatsApp.

On 13 Dec, she received a police letter supposedly informing her that she'll be charged with laundering the proceeds of criminal activities. However, the letter was sent by the scammers.

Jane, who was unwell at that time, didn't verify whether the letter was a fake.

"Inspector Yang" contacted Jane on 14 Dec and linked her up with his supposed supervisor, "Inspector Chong".

"Inspector Chong" told Jane to withdraw $500,000 from her bank account. The money was used to open a bank account with a Chinese bank, as instructed by the scammer, so it can be transferred to various bank accounts.

The scammer explained that the money will be used as bait to catch the other suspects in the money laundering case.

She transferred a total of $180,000 to various payees from that account.

"I was very sick and I was overloaded with work, so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I just wanted to give them whatever they wanted so they could close the case," she told ST, and added that she was also dealing with the loss of her father.

When the Chinese bank suspended the account over suspicious transfers, "Inspector Chong" told Jane to close the account and withdraw the remaining $320,000 so it can be passed to an "investigation team".

Jane met with an "officer", identified by "Inspector Chong" over the phone, at a public space in central Singapore and passed him the cash. She described the man as Chinese with a local accent, and looked to be in his 30s.

She met the man and another individual for a total of four times to pass them money that she withdrew from her bank account.

The last meeting took place on 3 Jan, 2025.

She passed them her entire life savings of $1.2 million, money that she had set aside for her new home and retirement.

When she pressed the scammers for updates on the case, she was told to wait as it was before the High Court.

Jane only realised she had been scammed when they stopped responding to her on 24 Jan.

She made a police report at the Pasir Ris Neighbourhood Police Centre on 6 Feb, after recovering from her illness.

Jane told ST, "I’ve learnt to let go; I just see it as charity, and I assume that whoever took my money needed it more than I did.

"When people ask me about it, I still feel down, but being busy with work helps me to avoid thinking about it."

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