At least S$38,000 lost to scammers who impersonated educational institutions to ask for school fees

Since August 2025, at least 16 cases of scams involving the impersonation of educational institutions via email have been reported, with total losses amounting to at least S$38,000.

According to a press release by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), this scam variant involves scammers using compromised school email accounts to ask victims for prompt and urgent payment of either school or tuition fees.

The victims would be asked to make payment to a bank account number listed in the email and warned that failure to do so would lead to legal consequences.

The victims would subsequently realise they have been scammed after checking or receiving notifications from the schools.

Check with schools before transferring any money

In their advisory to the public, the SPF called on people to check with the school or education institution through official channels before transferring any money, especially for unscheduled payment requests.

The police also said members of the public should not use the clickable links or QR codes provided by unknown persons to make payments or

transfers, or to download applications, without first verifying its legitimacy as these can lead to fake bank websites that phish for banking credentials or malicious software.

The public is also advised to download the ScamShield app and set security features such as transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks and e-wallets, and using the Money Lock feature of your bank to "lock up" a portion of your money so that it cannot be transferred out digitally by anyone for further protection.

They also should not disclose their personal information, bank/card details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to anyone.

If they are in doubt, they can call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 to check.

Members of the public can also visit the ScamShield website for more information on scams.

Left photo via SPF, right photo by Pickawood via Unsplash