The Singapore Police Force issued a warning on 17 Oct 2025 after at least 15 victims lost a total of $44,000 to scammers impersonating educational institutions over just three days.
The scam surfaced on 14 Oct 2025. Fraudulent emails requested urgent payment of outstanding school or tuition fees.
How the Scam Works
Victims received emails that appeared to come from legitimate educational institutions.
These messages were sent from two primary sources: compromised email accounts belonging to fellow students that scammers had taken over, or email domains designed to closely resemble official school email addresses.
The emails demanded immediate payment. They threatened recipients with action from the school’s litigation department if they failed to transfer money quickly. Victims were instructed to transfer funds to a specific bank account.
Many victims only realised they had been scammed after seeking verification from their schools or receiving anti-scam advisories.
Similar Scams in August
This was not the first time such scams targeted students in Singapore.
In August 2025, at least 16 cases were reported. Victims lost at least $38,000, reported The Straits Times.
Several compromised email addresses of Temasek Polytechnic students were used by scammers during that period.
One scam email claimed students owed $2,850 in unpaid fees. It threatened litigation while instructing them to transfer money to a DBS bank account.
The Institute of Technical Education confirmed that scam emails using its logo had surfaced. The institution filed a police report.
Advice from Authorities
The Ministry of Education advised the public to exercise caution when receiving email requests for school fees through direct payment, immediate bank transfers, or payment links outside official student portals.
Members of the public should verify with schools via official channels before transferring any fees, particularly for unscheduled payment requests.
The ministry sent a message to all parents and guardians on 22 Aug 2025 via Parents Gateway. The message warned them about fraudulent emails targeting parents and requesting fee payments.
The police recommended several precautionary measures. People should not transfer money to unknown persons and should download the ScamShield app to block scam calls.
Anyone who notices suspicious activity in their bank account should alert their bank immediately.
The public can also call the ScamShield helpline at 1799, which operates 24/7, to verify suspicious requests.
Those who have transferred money or provided personal information should file a police report and notify their bank immediately.
Protection Measures Available
The ScamShield app was developed by Open Government Products in collaboration with the Singapore Police Force and National Crime Prevention Council. It blocks known scam numbers and filters suspicious messages.
Users can paste links, messages, or phone numbers into the app to check if they might be scams. They can even upload screenshots from SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
The app now includes a notification feature. It alerts users when a number they reported gets flagged by authorities as possibly used by scammers.
