Suspected scammer caught with fake employee passes, stamps with Supreme Court and MHA emblems
The 23-year-old Malaysian man, who was stopped at Woodlands Checkpoint, will be charged in court on Aug 13.
On August 11, a 23-year-old Malaysian man was apprehended at the Woodlands Checkpoint in Singapore for allegedly attempting to carry out scams using counterfeit employee passes and official-looking stamps. The man was discovered in possession of inking instruments featuring the emblems of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Home Affairs during a routine enhanced check by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officers. Additionally, several fake employee passes with his photograph were found on his person.
Investigations by the police revealed that the man had no prior employment history with any of the organizations whose passes were found on him. The police explained that scammers often use counterfeit passes and official-looking instruments to appear legitimate and deceive victims.
According to the police statement on August 12, this type of counterfeit pass and instrument-making offense carries a potential jail term of up to seven years and a fine. The police noted that the number of government official impersonation scams more than doubled in 2025, with 3,363 cases reported compared to 1,504 in 2024. The value of losses due to this type of scam also increased significantly, reaching about $243 million in 2025, which is the second-highest among all scam types that year.
The police have reported that Singapore has suffered over $4 billion in total scam losses since 2019, with $913.1 million lost in 2025 alone. Of this amount, approximately $140.5 million has been recovered by the authorities.
To avoid falling victim to scams, the police advised the public to be vigilant and follow several precautions. These include asking numerous questions about investment opportunities, verifying the credentials of companies and their representatives, checking the authenticity of court orders and documents, and being cautious when downloading mobile applications.
Anyone with information about potential scams is encouraged to contact the police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
