https://mothership.sg/2025/10/moh-spf-officers-scam/

Woman, 25, opens up on close shave with MOH & SPF impersonation scammers who knew her full name & NRIC number

She eventually found out that another victim had lost S$1.2 million to a phone call that was nearly the same, word-for-word.

Branded

Matthias Ang

October 21, 2025, 07:00 PM

For 25-year-old Bren, a phone call on the morning of Jun. 30 left her badly shaken after she realised her personal information was actually in the hands of scammers.

Speaking to Mothership, Bren shared her close shave with a scam involving the impersonation of two government officials – one from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and another from the Singapore Police Force (SPF).

What’s more, she eventually found out that the scam she was experiencing had resulted in a previous victim losing S$1.2 million, with almost the exact same phrases said to her, word-for-word.

Addressed Bren by her full name and IC

According to Bren, she received the phone call just after 10am on a weekday, while she was working from home.

Photo by Bren

She found herself speaking to a woman who identified herself as "Lam Zhi Yim", a staff member from the "medical subsidy claim" department in MOH.

"Lam" then addressed Bren by her full name and NRIC number and told her that a withdrawal claim of S$3,316 for a heart surgery subsidy had been made under her Medisave account.

"I remember being very confused because first of all, I did not get any heart surgery done and (I) definitely did not make a claim to deduct that specified account from my account," Bren added.

Told Bren it could be a case of "identity theft" and transferred the call to a “police officer”

When she mentioned this to "Lam", the woman responded by saying that this could be a case of identity theft, with the aim of withdrawing money from her account.

Bren said she felt confused and "a little concerned" by this point and thought that it was an issue she would have to deal with.

"Lam" then told Bren that her call would be transferred to an "emergency line" with a police officer and told her to note down what she had just been told so that she could convey it to the police officer once the line had been connected.

This alleged officer introduced himself as "Inspector Khoo" from the police investigation department.

Photo by Bren

Bren said she then recounted her exchange with "Lam" to the police officer, who asked her several questions repeatedly.

These included whether she had ever lost her NRIC, if she ever had her personal information stolen, whether she had given her NRIC details to other people, or if she had used her NRIC to make online purchases.

"Police officer’s" tone became more aggressive

"I reiterated that nothing of that sort (had) happened but he was super sceptical and kept insisting that something must have happened," Bren added.

In addition, "Khoo" spoke in an interrogative manner which made Bren feel that this was a serious matter.

Eventually, Bren tried asking "Khoo" several times if she could head down to the police station to have this conversation, given the severity of the issue.

However, "Khoo" kept ignoring her question and she grew suspicious about his identity as his tone towards her became more and more aggressive.

Asked to lock herself in a room

Subsequently, the officer instructed Bren to lock herself in a room to ensure her call would be more private.

"Khoo" then said he was going to run some tests on her NRIC number to determine if her identity had been stolen and left her waiting for 10 minutes.

Bren said she should have realised by this point that it was a scam.

"But for some reason my mind went completely blank on that day and I was definitely not thinking straight," she added.

Told to be involved in a money laundering case

When he returned, he told Bren that her NRIC number had been flagged for fraudulent activity and that she was actually involved in a money laundering case.

"Khoo" then alleged that a lady by the name of "Serena Chilyn" had laundered money from a UOB bank account and had shared 10 per cent of the money with Bren.

He also warned Bren not to speak about this to her family or she could be jailed for two years.

At this point, Bren felt that it was very likely she was in the middle of a scam call, given that she did not have a UOB account and she had never heard of "Serena Chilyn" before.

"It made absolutely no sense," Bren said.

Found another similar case where the same name of "Serena Chilyn" was used

This prompted her to quickly search for articles detailing similar experiences whereupon she found the following report by CNA in which a woman was scammed of S$1.2 million following a phone call with a "police officer" who used the same modus operandi.

Bren noted that it was "almost the exact same experience word for word," given that the so-called officer in this case had also claimed that a UOB branch manager called "Serena Chilyn" had used the victim’s identity to open a bank account and paid the victim 10 per cent in commissions.

Bren said she then hung up the call just as "Khoo" was asking her to provide statements of the bank transactions and immediately blocked his number and that of "Lam".

She then made a police report and informed her family members as well about the experience.

While she had not experienced any losses, the entire experience, which lasted for about 30 to 40 minutes, had unsettled her greatly.

Advice to others

She also installed the ScamShield app upon the advice of the police to better protect herself.

When we asked Bren for advice in avoiding such scams in future, she said:

"Definitely be more alert when you get strange calls, and do install ScamShield to help you check as well.

And always be wary when the caller…(transfers) your call to the police."

According to the SPF, banks, telcos, reputable companies, and government agencies will never directly transfer your call to the police.

What to do if you receive such a phone call

In addition, government officials will never ask to transfer money, disclose personal information (such as your bank log-in details) or install mobile apps from unofficial app stores over a phone call.

Scammers may also cite your personal information (e.g. name or NRIC number) to appear legitimate.

However, members of the public should not automatically trust them just because they mention your personal information. Instead, members of the public should call the 24/7 ScamShield helpline at 1799 to check whenever they are unsure if something is a scam.

More recently, such scams involving the impersonation of government officials may even attempt to trick victims into handing over physical valuables such as cash, gold bars, luxury time pieces or jewellery.

Police officers will also not, under any circumstances, send its officers or "undercover agents" to collect cash or other valuables from the members of the public.

If asked to prepare cash or valuables for handover to an unknown person or place them for collection, hang up and do not engage the caller further. Call the ScamShield hotline at 1799 to check, or contact the police immediately.

SPF would also like to remind members of the public to:

1. NEVER transfer monies, hand monies or other valuables, including pre-signed cheques, to any unknown persons or persons whose identity you did not verify.
2. NEVER place monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection.

Sharpen your guard against scams on Nov. 8 & 9

Want to learn how to protect yourself from scams? There’s no better time than to do so at the inaugural “We Can ACT Against Scams” Roadshow.

The anti-scam roadshow will be held on Nov. 8 and Nov. 9 at Toa Payoh HDB Hub Atrium from 10am to 8pm.

Discover how to spot the latest scam tactics, learn essential protective measures, and experience hands-on activities that will build your “spider-sense” and sharpen your eye against scammers.

The more we all know about scams and anti-scam protective measures, the better we can protect ourselves and others.

Bren didn’t expect she would be so close to getting scammed. Don’t be complacent and check out this roadshow to become more resilient to scams .

Find out more about the roadshow here.

Event details

Date: Nov. 8-9, 2025

Time: 10am-8pm

Location: Toa Payoh HDB Hub Atrium

This sponsored article made the author far more wary of picking up phone calls from numbers not in his contact list.

Left photo via ICA, right photo via SPF