At least 614,000 Singapore dollars (460,500 U.S. dollars) have been lost in at least three scam cases involving fraudsters posing as officials from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) since March, the agency warned on Thursday.

In a joint statement with the police, the MAS explained that in this scam variant, victims received unsolicited calls from individuals pretending to be MAS officials.

To appear credible, the scammers instructed victims to verify their identity by entering their name into the MAS e-service portal.

While the portal is legitimate, the MAS clarified that it was a public registry of financial representatives conducting regulated activities under Singapore’s financial laws, not a list of MAS employees.

The scammers then claimed that the victims’ bank accounts had been used for money laundering or that their personal information had been compromised.

They ultimately deceived the victims into disclosing sensitive personal details. One Singapore dollar equals 0.75 U.S. dollars.

(Xinhua/NAN)