Ms Jacqueline Leong’s fortnightly meals with her in-laws are more than occasions for family bonding; it’s time spent keeping them safe and savvy.

The 40-year-old marketer makes it a point to update family members, including her in-laws, who are in their 70s and live by themselves, on the latest scam tactics she comes across in the news. 

One of her biggest worries? Government officials impersonation scams, where scammers pose as officials from agencies such as the police, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. 

Scammers would trick victims into believing that their bank accounts were used for money laundering. Victims are then asked to surrender funds in their bank accounts by transferring to a “safety account” for investigation purposes, or

physically hand over cash or gold bars to strangers

The number of government officials impersonation scam cases spiked by 199.2 per cent to 1,762 in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period last year. 

Victims lost about $126.5 million in total – an increase of 88.3 per cent.

The figures come from the 2025 mid-year scam and cybercrime report released by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Aug 30. 

Ms Leong explains that her in-laws, like many seniors, can get anxious when they receive unexpected calls about “official matters”. 

It can be “very scary”, she says, “especially when (scammers have) information such as full names, or when (scammers tell them) their details were being used for illegal activities.”