Beware of scammers pretending to be MOH officers: Ministry

SINGAPORE – Beware of phone calls about an outstanding subsidy or claim application from people claiming to be from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the ministry warned.

They may be scammers.

In a Facebook post on June 16, MOH said it is aware of such calls, where the scammers would ask the victim to take documents to the ministry’s main building for verification. The ministry is located in Outram.

To allay any suspicions, the scammer would offer to transfer the call to “the police” so that the victim can verify the authenticity of the call.

MOH said that it does not require people to submit documents in person for subsidies or claim matters. It also does not request bank transfers, cash or personal bank details from individuals.

“We encourage people who have received such calls to make a police report,” said the ministry.

On June 6,

three men were taken to court

after they laundered proceeds from a government official impersonation scam. One of the victims had received a call from someone claiming to be from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The police said on June 6 that

over 200 people were also being investigated

for their suspected roles in scams – including government official impersonation scams – that led to losses of over $5.84 million.