Fake ICA Officer Scams in Singapore: Video Calls & Detained Kin

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) has issued a fresh warning about two scam patterns Singaporeans are increasingly encountering: callers pretending to be ICA officers — sometimes on live video — and voice messages claiming a relative has been detained. According to the advisory, government impersonation scams doubled in 2025, and the tactics are getting more convincing.

How the fake-officer scam works

It usually starts with a phone call from someone claiming to be an ICA officer. The caller may already know your name and NRIC suffix, which makes the call feel legitimate. They say your identity has been used in a crime — often a money-laundering or immigration case — and that you need to help with “verification.”

In newer variants the scammer joins you on a video call, sometimes wearing what looks like an official uniform or sitting in a room made up to look like a government office. The production is deliberate. The goal is to keep you on the call, off-balance, and away from anyone who might tell you to slow down.

The “your family member is detained” twist

Separately, scammers are calling relatives and claiming a son, daughter, or grandchild has been arrested by ICA. The caller hands the phone to a second voice — supposedly the detained family member — who sounds distressed and asks urgently for money to be paid for bail or release. The real relative is usually safe and unaware.

ICA does not call members of the public to demand payment over the phone or to ask you to transfer money to any account. Real officers will never video-call you to “verify” your identity in a criminal case.

Why these scams are hard to spot

The scammers prepare. They may know fragments of your real personal data — name, address, partial NRIC — bought from earlier data breaches. They create time pressure. And they explicitly tell you not to tell your family, so no one can interrupt. By the time you realise something is wrong, the money is already gone.

How ScamGuard helps

ScamGuard watches for the patterns these scams rely on: requests for money transfer, demands for secrecy from family, calls claiming to be from government agencies, and unusual verification steps over chat or video. If you paste the message, screenshot, or call transcript into ScamGuard, it can flag the conversation as high-risk before you act.

How to protect yourself

• Hang up and call ICA directly at 6391 1111 — the official line — if anyone claims to be an officer. Do not use a number the caller gives you.
• Never transfer money based on a phone or video call alone. No government agency in Singapore will ask you to do this.
• If a caller says your relative is detained, hang up and call that relative on their known number. They are almost certainly safe.
• Refuse any request for secrecy. A real officer will never tell you not to involve your family.
• Do not share Singpass credentials, OTPs, or bank logins over a call, chat, or video — no matter how official the caller looks.
• When unsure, call the ScamShield helpline at 1799 — it is free and available 24/7.

Scammers win when fear and urgency take over. A 60-second pause to verify — through a tool, a family member, or the official helpline — is usually enough to break the scam.

Related Singapore scam coverage

• SPF Arrests 216 in Islandwide Sweep as Scam Losses Top S$9M
• Fake Android App Wipes Singpass, Targets Singapore Seniors

Verifying a business or person you're dealing with? See VerifySG's blog on Singpass-verified identity.