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The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has cautioned the public about an email message impersonating the Commissioner of Inland Revenue Ng Wai Choong.

Recipients are told they need an approval pass or obtain a letter of confirmation to receive an unverified international fund transfer, IRAS said on Jan. 21.

Recipients are to ignore the email message, the government agency said, which indicated the funds to be "$20 million".

The scam message would state that the recipient’s bank accounts had been blocked from receiving the "unverified" transfer.

Recipients are told to get the letter of confirmation from "the Bill Gate foundation" -- a misspelling of "Bill Gates" -- or to buy an approval pass to facilitate the transfer.

The email is signed off by "Mr Ng".

Recipients of such messages are advised not to provide personal, credit card or bank account details, make any payment or follow the sender's instructions.

The most straightforward action is to ignore them.

IRAS said: “IRAS would like to advise that the authority will not ask you to obtain any kind of approval pass to facilitate a fund transfer.”

Those affected by the scam are to file police reports, the agency advised.

Top photo via IRAS