Transferred money to a scammer, shared a banking password or gave someone remote access to your phone in Sengkang? Act immediately. Contact your bank using its official fraud hotline or banking app and ask it to stop transactions, freeze affected accounts and cards, and activate the bank’s security measures. Then make a Police report and secure any compromised email, Singpass, social media or shopping accounts. Singapore’s 24-hour ScamShield Helpline is 1799 for scam-related guidance and directions to participating banks. It does not file a Police report for you.
Do not pay another ‘release fee’ or ‘recovery fee’. A person who says they can retrieve your stolen money after another payment may be running a second scam. Do not follow links or phone numbers supplied by the suspected scammer. Use contacts independently obtained from your bank’s official website, app or the back of your card.
Quick action sequence: bank first; Police report; secure compromised accounts and devices; report scam messages or websites; preserve records. Call 999 only for an immediate Police emergency, such as an active threat or crime requiring urgent Police assistance. For scam advice, use 1799, which is available 24 hours a day.
The first 10 minutes: stop further losses
- Stop communicating with the suspected scammer. Do not send more money, disclose additional codes or install another app at their request.
- Contact your bank immediately. Ask for the account or card to be secured, transfers to be stopped or recalled where possible, and suspicious payees or digital access to be blocked.
- Use the bank’s official kill switch if available. Follow the bank’s verified process to freeze digital banking or cards. Use a separate trusted device if your phone may be compromised.
- Call ScamShield on 1799. Get help understanding next steps and reaching a participating bank; remember that ScamShield cannot lodge the Police report on your behalf.
- Make a Police report. Use the official online Police report service or attend a Neighbourhood Police Centre or Post as appropriate.
- Secure email, Singpass and social accounts. Change compromised passwords from a safe device, revoke unfamiliar sessions and notify contacts if an account is being used to impersonate you.
- Preserve the evidence. Keep bank transaction references, messages, emails, phone numbers, websites, payment receipts and screenshots. Do not delete the chat before recording the relevant details.
Who to call in Sengkang
- Your bank’s official fraud hotline: the first contact when an account, card or transfer is compromised. Use the bank’s official app, website or card—not a number supplied by the caller.
- 1799 — ScamShield Helpline: 24/7 help for scam-related questions and directions to participating banks. Official ScamShield helpline guidance.
- 999 — Police emergency: immediate Police assistance for an active threat or crime in progress. For a scam report without an immediate danger, use SPF’s Police Report e-service.
- 1800 255 0000 — Police Hotline: provide crime-related information; it is not the emergency number.
- Platform provider: report a compromised email, marketplace, social media, messaging or digital wallet account through its verified help channel.
- Singpass Helpdesk: contact the official Singpass support service if Singpass access or credentials may be compromised. Singpass official help.
Why the bank should be contacted first
ScamShield’s official ‘I’ve been scammed’ instructions, last updated 3 June 2026 advise victims to contact their bank immediately, file a Police report, secure accounts and report compromised platform accounts. The bank may be able to take immediate steps to prevent further transactions, although it cannot guarantee that money already transferred will be recovered.
Tell the bank whether you gave away a one-time password, approved a digital token request, installed an application, shared a screen, revealed card details or transferred money yourself under deception. Those details affect the bank’s investigation and what access may need to be blocked.
Do not wait until you have completed a full written timeline before calling. The first objective is to reduce further loss. You can organise the evidence after the bank has been alerted.
What if you transferred money to a bank account or PayNow number?
Contact your bank immediately and provide the amount, time, recipient details and transaction reference. Ask the bank to try the appropriate urgent interbank or payment-channel recovery process. If the transfer was made through PayNow, provide the recipient identifier and any displayed name exactly as shown.
A fast report may improve the opportunity to trace or intercept funds, but recovery is not guaranteed. Funds may have been moved through multiple accounts or withdrawn. Do not assume that a bank transfer can always be reversed by pressing a button.
Make a Police report and provide the case reference to the bank if requested. Keep the original messages and payment confirmation. Do not edit screenshots or omit transactions that you are embarrassed about.
What if you shared your banking login, OTP or digital token?
Tell the bank which credentials or authentication steps were disclosed. Ask it to secure the account, invalidate affected digital access and review recent transactions and registered devices. A password change alone may not be enough if the scammer has installed malicious software or has an active authenticated session.
Use a clean, trusted device to change passwords for banking-related email and other essential accounts. Turn on the bank’s security notifications and review recent beneficiaries, scheduled transfers, device enrolments and personal details for unauthorised changes.
Never disclose a one-time password or approve an unexpected authentication request because a caller claims to be from Police, MAS, a ministry or a bank. The Singapore Police Force scam advisory says government officials will never ask you to transfer money, disclose bank login details or install apps from unofficial app stores.
What if you installed a remote-access app?
Stop interacting with the caller and disconnect the compromised device from the internet if you can do so safely. Do not use that device to log into banking again until you have received appropriate technical guidance. Call the bank from another trusted phone and explain that remote access may have been granted.
Use official device-provider or cybersecurity support to check the phone or computer. Remove suspicious applications only when you understand what was installed and how to secure the account; a hurried reset may erase evidence. If a work device is involved, notify the organisation’s IT or security team promptly.
Tell family members that messages from your account may not be genuine. Ask them not to transfer money or open links until you have confirmed that you regained control.
What if your Singpass, email or social media account was compromised?
Prioritise recovery through the official service provider. Change the password from a trusted device, check recovery email addresses and phone numbers, revoke unknown sessions and restore multi-factor protection where available. If Singpass access is involved, use official Singpass support and follow its identity-protection instructions.
Email is especially important because it can be used to reset other accounts. Secure the primary email account before relying on it to receive password-reset links. If you cannot access it, use the provider’s official account recovery process.
For social or messaging accounts, report impersonation and warn contacts through another trusted channel. Do not publicly post your full NRIC, login details, card numbers or identity documents to prove that your account was stolen.
ScamShield 1799: what it can and cannot do
The ScamShield Helpline is available 24/7 to provide scam-related advice and help direct victims to participating banks. It is particularly useful when you are unsure whether a message or caller is fraudulent, or when you need help identifying the correct next step.
It cannot file a Police report for you, guarantee a bank reversal or provide a case investigation update. For a Police report, use the official SPF e-service or an appropriate Police station. For the status of a reported case, follow the instructions provided by the investigating officer.
ScamShield’s helpline page lists participating banks that it can connect to directly. If your bank is not in that group, use the bank’s official fraud contact.
How to make a useful Police report
A clear report should describe what happened in chronological order, not simply say ‘I was scammed’. Include how the contact began, the identity or role claimed by the scammer, which channel was used, what instructions were given, what information was shared and which payments were made.
- Contact: phone number, email address, social-media account, website or messaging profile used.
- Timeline: date and time of calls, messages, login events and transfers.
- Money: amount, payment method, recipient account or PayNow identifier and transaction reference.
- Access: whether OTPs, passwords, Singpass, card details or remote-device permissions were disclosed.
- Evidence: screenshots, email headers, receipts, bank alerts and call records.
- Actions already taken: bank contacted, accounts frozen, passwords changed and platform reports made.
- Current risk: whether the scammer still has access or is threatening, impersonating or contacting your family.
Do not pay a recovery scammer
After an initial scam, victims may be contacted by someone claiming to be a recovery agent, lawyer, regulator, cryptocurrency specialist or Police-linked officer. They may promise to retrieve funds if the victim pays a fee, tax, deposit, verification charge or release amount.
Be especially careful when the person knows the details of the first scam. That information does not prove legitimacy. Verify any professional or agency independently and do not transfer more money to recover money already lost.
The MoneySense guide to what to do after a scam specifically warns that scammers may promise to release stolen funds after another payment. Stop and verify through the bank, Police or ScamShield.
What if the scam involved a credit card or e-wallet?
Ask the issuer or provider to freeze the card or wallet, block further payments and review unauthorised transactions. Report the card as compromised and ask whether replacement, token suspension or dispute procedures apply.
If a merchant charge appears unfamiliar, do not assume it is automatically a scam; give the provider the transaction details and explain why you believe it is unauthorised. Keep any Police report reference and respond to the issuer’s evidence requests.
What if the scammer is still on the phone?
End the call. A caller who claims that you must remain on the line, not speak to relatives or not contact your bank is trying to isolate you. Call your bank or 1799 from a separate trusted phone. If somebody threatens immediate physical harm or there is a crime in progress, call Police 999.
Do not transfer money to a ‘safe account’. Do not hand cash or bank cards to a courier. Do not allow an unknown person to enter your flat to collect documents or devices. Those are strong warning signs of impersonation and other scams.
Sengkang examples
A caller claims to be from a bank and asks for an OTP
End the call, do not share the code, verify using the bank’s published contact and call ScamShield 1799 if unsure. If the code has already been shared, contact the bank immediately.
A resident transfers money to a fake online seller
Call the bank, provide transfer references and the recipient details, then file a Police report. Preserve the listing, chat, phone number and payment receipt.
A family member’s WhatsApp account begins asking relatives for cash
Contact the person through another verified channel, report the compromised account to the platform and warn relatives not to transfer money or share codes.
A victim is told to pay a fee to recover the first loss
Do not pay. Treat the contact as a possible recovery scam and verify independently with the bank, Police or ScamShield.
More Sengkang emergency guides
- Lost wallet, NRIC, passport and bank cards
- Suspicious packages, threats and Police help
- Home break-in and intruder safety
- Police emergency and non-emergency contacts
More Sengkang emergency guides: Sexual assault, medical care and survivor support · Housebreaking, burglary and intruder safety · Fallen power lines and exposed electrical cables.
Official sources and review date
- ScamShield — I’ve Been Scammed: Immediate Steps (updated 3 June 2026)
- ScamShield — 24/7 Helpline 1799
- MoneySense — What to Do if You Suspect You’ve Been Scammed
- Singapore Police Force — Scam Advisories
- Singapore Police Force — Emergency and Contact Numbers
- Monetary Authority of Singapore — Combatting Scams and Consumer Recourse
Reviewed 7 November 2026. This is general public guidance, not a promise that funds can be recovered. Contact the bank immediately if payment or account access is compromised, make a Police report and use official channels only.
