Police say 59 people lost at least $1.3 million in October to callers posing as Simba staff, then as police or government officers.
Scammers pretending to work for the phone company Simba, then handing victims to fake government officials, took at least $1.3 million in October. Police said on Oct 29 that 59 cases were reported in the month. One victim sent the scammers a total of $285,000.
It starts with a call saying you bought something you did not, such as an iPhone or a phone plan. When you deny it, you are passed to a second scammer posing as Simba customer service. That person says your details were misused and that more investigation is needed.
Then comes another transfer, this time to people posing as police officers or officers from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. These fake officials tell victims to move money into unknown bank accounts. Some victims were told to hand over cash or valuables, such as jewelry or luxury watches, to a person in the real world.
Each handoff makes the story feel more official. By the time a victim hears from a fake officer, they may already believe they are in trouble. Many only realized the truth when the scammers stopped answering, or when they contacted a government agency directly to check.
The problem is wider than one case. Police say scams linked to Simba are rising. On Oct 21, they warned of phishing scams that copy the company through search engine results, with more than $83,000 lost across at least 62 cases since March. Scams overall cost $410.6 million in the first half of 2026.
Simba customers are the obvious targets, but the pattern matters more than the name. Anyone who gets an unexpected call about a purchase they do not recognize should be suspicious. Seniors aged 65 and above lose the most on average of any age group. Police also say eight in 10 victims are still being manipulated into handing over money themselves.
The alert box above lists the exact steps. The short version: hang up, then check the claim yourself using a number you look up, not one the caller gives you. Police stress that Singapore officials will never ask you to move money, valuables or cryptocurrency, and will not transfer your call to the police or another agency.
The material does not say how the scammers get the phone numbers they call, or whether any company data was exposed. It also does not say whether the October pace will continue. Police did say officials will never ask you to take out loans from moneylenders, share banking log-ins, or install apps from unverified app stores. Any caller who asks for those is a warning sign, whatever uniform they claim.
If a caller says you bought something you did not, then passes you to an official, hang up and check using a number you find yourself.
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