Over 500 fake MHA, Home Team agencies’ websites taken down; no evidence of scams, illegal access

More than 500 fraudulent websites attempting to impersonate the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and seven Home Team agencies, including the Singapore Police Force and the Central Narcotics Bureau, have been taken down, according to a statement released by the MHA on August 12. These websites were identified on August 10 by HTX, which is responsible for the Home Team Science and Technology Agency.

All identified fake websites, which replicated the official branding and content from MHA and Home Team agencies, were removed by August 11, as reported by the ministry on Facebook.

The MHA assured that there was no evidence to suggest these websites had been misused for scams or to illegally access personal information. Furthermore, there was no indication that the systems of MHA or the Home Team agencies had been compromised or accessed without authorization. In light of this incident, the ministry advised the public to remain vigilant when accessing websites that claim to belong to MHA or Home Team agencies.

It recommended checking the website address carefully to ensure it ends with .gov.sg and to look out for irregularities such as unusual website addresses, spelling and grammatical mistakes, poor-quality images, broken links, or pages and functions that do not function as expected. The ministry also recommended accessing government services through official channels, such as the gov.sg portal or by typing website addresses directly into browsers rather than clicking on links from unsolicited messages, emails, social media posts, or advertisements.

Anyone who comes across suspicious websites impersonating MHA or Home Team agencies is urged to report them to the police through the ScamShield Helpline at 1799 or by visiting https://www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. In 2025, a total of 37,308 scam cases were reported, resulting in losses amounting to $913.1 million, with the police recovering about $140.5 million.

Government official impersonation scams ranked as the fifth most common scam type in that year, marking a more than doubling of such scams, from 1,504 cases in 2024 to 3,363 reported in 2025. The ministry reiterated that MHA will continue to monitor the situation closely and collaborate with relevant agencies and partners to identify and take appropriate action against any websites impersonating MHA or Home Team agencies.