By Andrew Wong for The Straits Times
Copyright tnp
Since May, the police have received at least 45 reports of fake bulk order scams, signalling the return of such cases.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming said this in Parliament on Sept 26, saying scammers have been impersonating Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel or school teachers.
Mr Goh was responding to a question posed by Mr Alex Yeo (Potong Pasir SMC) on the intent of the perpetrators.
Said Mr Goh: “This scam variant is not new but since May 2025 the police has actually seen a recent re-emergence of the number of these kinds of scams.”
In fact, he said that from May to Sept 15, the police received at least six reports of these scams involving the impersonation of SAF personnel.
MP Jackson Lam had asked if MHA was working with other agencies to develop verification tools or secure channels for business owners to verify the authenticity of such orders.
Mr Goh said it was not possible for the police to protect businesses and merchants from all forms of scams and fraud, and urged the public and businesses to stay alert.
“If in doubt, please call (the) ScamShield helpline at 1799,” he added.
Fake bulk order scams have been in the news lately after several eateries fell prey to them.
They included a nasi lemak shop, a florist, and bakeries. In total, these businesses lost at least $32,000 to scammers who work for a syndicate.
Mr Goh said criminals were constantly devising new ways to scam victims, so the public and businesses will have to be more discerning and vigilant against such scam variants.
He said: “In particular, we urge businesses to try to verify the identity of the people they are transacting with, avoid making advanced payments or deposits with new suppliers, and pay only upon the delivery of goods.”
He emphasised that Government agencies will never ask businesses to make payment to another business on the Government’s behalf, unless this has been agreed through a written contract.
How the scam works
In such scams, criminals would call a business using a local number they obtained from a mule, and place a large order to be fulfilled within a short period.
The scammers would claim to pay once the order has been collected. Some would promise putting a down payment closer to the collection date.
Nearer that date, the scammer would contact the business again to request additional items the businesses does not carry or is unable to fulfil on short notice.
The scammers would threaten to call off the deal if the business can’t fulfil the order.
The fraudster would then claim he has the contact of a supplier, who also works for the syndicate, who can provide the additional items. But the victim must make the arrangements.
In desperation, the business would contact the supposed supplier and pay for the additional items.
But these items never arrive, and the bulk order is not collected.
Mr Goh said as of Sept 19, six suspects linked to such scams have been arrested.
Three aged between 16 and 31 were nabbed on Sept 15 and 16 following raids around Middle Road, Woodlands Street 81 and Cantonment Road.
Days later, police announced that three more people – two men and a woman aged between 17 and 28 – had been arrested.
On Sept 17, a Sri Lankan woman was charged over her alleged links to the scams.
