The 10 signs of a scam
These are the 10 things scammers do to push good, careful people into paying. You do not need to spot all ten. If a message or a call shows even one of them, that is enough — stop, and check before you do anything else. The scammer is skilled at this. You are not slow for pausing; pausing is the whole defence.
Here are the ten. Read them slowly. Each one is a moment to stop.
Pressure to act right now
Real organisations give you time. The police, MAS, your bank and CPF will never demand that you move money within the hour. A deadline that arrives together with a payment request exists for one reason: to stop you from checking.
"It must be done in the next hour — after that, the court freezes everything."
Claims to be someone official
Anyone can say they are a police officer, an MAS investigator or bank staff. Real officers will never mind if you hang up and call the official number yourself — that call-back is exactly what a genuine organisation expects you to do.
"This is Senior Investigation Officer Koh from the Monetary Authority of Singapore."
Told to keep it secret
No real investigation is compromised by you talking to your own family or your own bank. Secrecy has only one job: to make sure nobody who loves you can pull you out. The moment someone says "don't tell anyone", that is the moment to tell someone.
"Do not disclose this call to anyone, including your family. It may compromise the investigation."
Promises that beat reality
Genuine investments carry risk and say so. Nobody who has truly found guaranteed high returns needs to recruit strangers on WhatsApp. If the returns were real, they would keep it to themselves.
"Guaranteed 15% monthly, zero risk — my whole family is inside this group."
Moved to another app
Marketplaces, job platforms and dating apps have protections and records. Scammers pull you into WhatsApp or Telegram to get away from those protections. The move itself is the warning, whatever reason they give for it.
"Easier to chat on WhatsApp, the app here very laggy."
Asks for your OTP, password or Singpass
Your OTP is the key to your money, and it is only ever for you to key in yourself. Banks, the police, MAS and government agencies will never ask you to read out an OTP, share a password, or approve a digital-token request for them. Nobody legitimate asks. Ever.
"To verify your identity, please read me the 6-digit code we just sent you."
Small payouts first, to earn your trust
Paying you a little is the cheapest trick in the book — a few real dollars today makes the big transfer feel safe tomorrow. Genuine employers and platforms don't need to prove themselves by paying you before you've done real work.
"See, your $23 commission already in your account! The VIP tasks pay much more."
A strange way to pay
There is no such thing as a "safety account". Real organisations never settle anything through gift cards, crypto transfers, cash handovers, or transfers to a personal account. The stranger the payment channel, the surer you can be.
"Transfer the funds to this Safety Account under the state's custody for verification."
"This is my new number"
A new number claiming to be someone you love is a claim, not a fact. Your real child or friend will never be upset that you called their old number to check — that one free phone call defeats this entire scam.
"Ma, my phone spoil, this my new number, save it ok."
A link to tap or an app to install
Singapore banks do not send clickable links by SMS or email, and no genuine shop needs you to install a special app from outside the official app store to pay. A link or APK file that arrives with a deal or a warning is the trap itself.
"Your parcel is held. Pay the $1.99 redelivery fee here: bit.ly/..."
What a real message looks like
Not every message is a scam, and living in fear is no way to live. So it helps to know what the genuine ones look like. Real organisations behave in steady, boring ways. Here are three signs that something is probably real — and, just as importantly, what a real bank or government agency will never mind you doing.
Singapore government texts come from one name: gov.sg
Since 1 July 2024, every genuine SMS from the Singapore government comes from a single sender name — gov.sg — with the agency's name written at the start. Real government officials will never phone you to move money, ask for your banking login, tell you to install an app, or say they are transferring your call to the police. If a “government” message does any of that, it is not the government.
“gov.sg CPFB: Your CPF statement is ready to view at the official website.” (One sender: gov.sg. Agency named in front. No link to tap, no payment, no threat.)
Singapore banks do not send links to tap
Singapore banks do not send clickable links by SMS or email. A real bank may message to tell you about a transaction, but it will never give you a link to log in through. When you want to check your account, you open the bank's own app yourself, or type the web address yourself. If a “bank” message hands you a link, the link is the trap.
“Your card ending 1234 was charged $45.20 at a supermarket. If this was not you, call the number on the back of your card.” (A real alert: it informs, and points you to a number you already have. No link, no login page, no deadline.)
A real organisation is happy for you to call back
Anyone genuine — a bank, a government office, a company — will not mind at all if you hang up and call them back on their official number. That is exactly what they expect a careful person to do. Only a scammer needs you to stay on this call, right now, without checking. So hang up. Look up the official number yourself. Anyone real will still be there.
“Please, take your time — here is our main line, do call us back to confirm.” (A real organisation offers this. A scammer pushes back on it.)
Not sure? Checking is free, and nobody will scold you for it. Call someone you trust, or call the ScamShield helpline on 1799 — it is open 24 hours, every day, and you can ask them about any message or call. If money has already moved, call your bank first, then check.
Share the 10 signs
I found a free page that shows the 10 signs of a scam — no sign-up, nothing recorded. Worth two minutes before it ever happens to someone we love: https://dontkena.com