Paid Money to a Scam in Singapore: Can You Get It Back?

By Johnathan Lee, Advocate and Solicitor (Singapore). Updated 31 October 2026.

If you have paid money, often in instalments, for a payout, an investment return or a “settlement” that never arrives, some of it can sometimes be recovered, but often it cannot, and speed matters most. Call your bank’s anti-scam hotline and file a police report at once, as ScamShield’s official guidance sets out, because money still in a Singapore account can sometimes be frozen. A civil claim, typically for fraudulent misrepresentation or for the return of money paid on a basis that failed, is only worth bringing against someone you can identify, locate and enforce against. If the documents carry a law firm’s name, check it on the Legal Services Regulatory Authority’s public search and contact the firm through the details listed there.

How do I know if this is a scam?

Most of these schemes are “advance-fee” frauds: you are promised a large sum, but must pay something first, and each payment is followed by a new obstacle and a new fee. Common signs:

• Each payment is said to be the last: a “release fee”, “tax clearance”, “medical fees” or “legal fees” before the main sum is paid out.
• The promised sum is far larger than what you paid, and always about to arrive.
• You are asked to pay into a personal or overseas account, not an official firm or company account.
• Documents look official but carry no named solicitor, no file reference, or contact details that differ from the firm’s published details.
• There is pressure: a deadline, a threat of “forfeiture”, or a request to keep it secret from family or your bank.

The Law Society of Singapore has published several 2026 notices about impersonation of Singapore law practices. One notice dated 5 June 2026 described “a forged letter bearing a Singapore Law Practice’s name and logo” seeking legal fees “in connection with a purported settlement with a local bank”. A real letterhead does not make a document genuine.

How can I check whether a law firm or lawyer is real?

Use the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) e-services search, run by the Ministry of Law. It lists “Singapore solicitors with a current practising certificate from the Supreme Court of Singapore”, foreign lawyers and registered law practices, searchable by name, licence or registration type, size and practice area (Ministry of Law). The Law Society’s “Find a Lawyer” listing is not complete, as its listings are paid advertising, and it points readers to the LSRA search.

Scammers borrow real firm names, so existence is not enough. The Law Society advises contacting the firm directly, and notes that the LSRA search can confirm a firm’s address and telephone number. Call the number on the register, not the one on the letter, and ask whether the firm sent the document. Treat any request to pay “legal fees” into an individual’s personal account with great caution.

What should I do right now?

• Stop paying. Do not make a further payment to “unlock” earlier ones, however it is framed.
• Call your bank immediately. ScamShield says “the bank can take immediate actions to prevent further monetary loss”. Use its list of bank anti-scam hotlines and ask the bank to try to recall the transfers. A recall is a request, not a certainty: once money has moved on, there may be nothing left to return.
• File a police report online or in person. The police have reported working with banks to identify and freeze accounts implicated in scams, which is why early reporting matters.
• Keep everything: chats, emails, letters, receipts, account numbers, phone numbers and names used.
• Secure your accounts and warn your contacts if the scammer had access to them.
• Expect a second approach. ScamShield warns that scammers may return posing as authorities. Be wary of anyone offering to recover your money for an upfront fee.

Can I sue to get my money back?

A police investigation and a civil claim are separate: the police decide whether to charge anyone, while a civil claim is your own action for your money. Three common routes:

• Fraudulent misrepresentation (deceit). You must show a false representation of fact made to you, intended to be acted on, that you acted on it and suffered loss, and that the maker knew it was false or did not genuinely believe it was true: Astrawati Aluwi v Lo Yew Seng [2025] SGHC 188 at [34], applying Panatron Pte Ltd v Lee Cheow Lee [2001] 2 SLR(R) 435 at [14]. Fraud must be properly proved.
• Return of money paid on a basis that failed. A claim in unjust enrichment (sometimes still described as a claim for “money had and received”) requires enrichment of the defendant, at your expense, and an “unjust factor”. One such factor is a total failure of basis, for example where you paid for something you received none of: Erwin Chong Xue Yoong v Chua Yan Suan, Samantha [2026] SGMC 95 at [22].
• Breach of a promise to repay. If the money was a loan, or the person agreed to repay it as part of a binding agreement (in writing or in messages), you may be able to sue on that agreement. A bare later promise to refund, given with nothing in return, may not be enforceable on its own.

The practical question comes first: who is the defendant, and where are they? The judiciary’s guidance explains that an originating claim must generally be served personally within 3 months of issue; substituted service (for example by email) needs court approval after at least 2 unsuccessful reasonable attempts at personal service; and service outside Singapore follows Order 8 of the Rules of Court 2021. With only a chat handle and an overseas account, a claim may be hard to bring and harder to enforce. See our guides on taking a claim from letter of demand to judgment and recovering a loan.

Time limits apply. Actions founded on contract or tort must generally be brought within 6 years of the cause of action accruing (Limitation Act 1959, s 6(1)(a)). Where the action is based on the defendant’s fraud, the period does not begin to run until you discovered the fraud or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it (s 29(1)).

Am I bound by the “settlement agreement” or deed I signed?

Schemes often ask victims to sign a “settlement agreement”, “deed of release” or acknowledgment of debt. A signed document can still be set aside in some circumstances. The Court of Appeal has upheld the setting aside of a deed on the ground of misrepresentation: BOM v BOK [2018] SGCA 83 at [91]. The same judgment describes undue influence, both “actual”, where you show you entered the transaction because of influence exerted on you, and “presumed”, arising from a relationship of trust and confidence (at [101]).

Whether either applies depends on the document and what you were told; a document forming part of a fraud may also raise questions of illegality. Do not sign anything further until it has been reviewed.

I “lent” the money, or moved money for someone. Am I at risk?

Loans with a promised return. Some schemes frame payments as loans with “interest” or “remuneration”. Under the Moneylenders Act 2008, a person (other than an excluded moneylender) who lends money “in consideration of a larger sum being repaid” is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be a moneylender (s 3). Carrying on a moneylending business without a licence is an offence (ss 5(1) and 19(1)), and a loan granted by an unlicensed moneylender is unenforceable and the money lent is not recoverable in court (s 19(3)). The presumption can be rebutted, and a one-off loan is in a different position from repeated lending for profit, but if you made several such “loans” or recruited others, take advice before suing on them.

Receiving and passing on money. Victims are sometimes asked to receive and forward funds, or lend out their account. This is how scam proceeds are laundered. The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that rash and negligent money laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (CDSA) took effect on 8 February 2024: rash where a person acts despite suspicions without further enquiries, and negligent where a person continues “despite obvious red flags noticeable by any reasonable person”. MHA gives maximum penalties of a $250,000 fine or 5 years’ imprisonment (or both) for the rash offence, and $150,000 or 3 years (or both) for the negligent one. Police releases show charges under ss 54 and 55A of the CDSA, and the police advise the public to “reject requests by others to use their personal or corporate bank accounts for the receipt or transfer of monies”.

If this describes you, stop moving money, keep the records and take advice before giving a statement. See what to do when you are under police investigation.

Will my bank refund me, and how much can I realistically recover?

The MAS and IMDA Shared Responsibility Framework, in effect since 16 December 2024, sets duties for banks and telcos and expectations of payouts where those duties are breached. Its scope is narrow. The Guidelines cover a “seemingly authorised transaction”: a scam impersonating a legitimate business or government entity, in which you enter your credentials on a fake platform and they are used for transactions you “did not intend to be performed”. It does not apply to credit, charge and debit cards issued in Singapore. Payments you chose to make yourself, believing the story, will usually fall outside it. Banks’ discretionary goodwill arrangements are separate.

Realistically, recovery depends on where the money is now:

Situation	Realistic prospects
Money reported within hours, still in a Singapore account	Strongest prospect of a freeze through the bank and police
Money passed through identifiable people or companies in Singapore	A civil claim may be worth considering, depending on their assets
Offender convicted in Singapore	On conviction, the court must consider whether to order the offender to pay compensation (Criminal Procedure Code 2010, s 359); any order depends on the case
Money moved overseas or into cryptocurrency, counterparty unknown	Recovery is often unlikely; legal costs may exceed what can be recovered

When should I speak to a lawyer?

• You can identify a person or company in Singapore who received your money.
• You have signed a settlement agreement, deed, acknowledgment or loan document as part of the scheme.
• Your payments were described as loans with interest or profit, or you introduced others to the scheme.
• Money passed through your own account to someone else, or the police have asked you to give a statement.
• You have received a letter of demand or court papers connected with the scheme.
• The sums are significant and you need a view on whether a claim is worth the cost.

A review of the documents and the payment trail is often enough to tell you whether a claim is realistic. See our civil disputes and criminal defence pages.

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Frequently asked questions

Can my bank reverse a transfer I made to a scammer?

Your bank can try to recall the transfer, so call its anti-scam hotline at once. Whether money comes back depends on whether it is still in the receiving account.

How do I check if a Singapore lawyer is genuine?

Search the lawyer and the firm on the Legal Services Regulatory Authority e-services search run by the Ministry of Law. Then call the firm on the number listed there, not the number on the letter, and ask whether it sent the document.

Is there a time limit to sue a scammer in Singapore?

Claims in contract or tort generally must be brought within 6 years. For claims based on fraud, time runs from when the fraud was discovered or could with reasonable diligence have been discovered.

Does the Shared Responsibility Framework cover me?

It covers a defined type of phishing scam, where your credentials were obtained on a fake platform and used for transactions you did not intend. If you made the payments yourself, it will usually not apply.

I passed money on for someone I met online. What should I do?

Stop, keep all records and move no more money. Forwarding funds for others can lead to money laundering investigations under the CDSA. Take advice before giving a statement.

This article is general information, not legal advice. It states Singapore law as at October 2026. Speak to a lawyer about your specific situation.