While Singaporeans are looking forward to receiving up to S$850 in cash from the GST Voucher (GSTV) cash and Medisave schemes, scammers are making use of this to ensnare people.
Although the payouts are set for August, some Singaporeans have been receiving Telegram messages with phishing links.
One of them, local content creator Nicole Liel, warned netizens of this scam in a TikTok video on Monday (13 July).
Nicole said a former Junior College classmate recently sent her a Telegram message with an infographic that looked similar to one used by the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
It told the user to check their eligibility to receive a GSTV of “$860 up to $1,000 starting in July 2026”.
However, these amounts are incorrect, as eligible adult Singaporeans will actually get up to S$850 and eligible seniors will get up to S$450.
Source: @lielnicole on TikTok
At the end of the message, the user is prompted to click on a link for “further information”.
Curiously, the link has the domain “dub.sh”.
Nicole said that if one clicks on it, their phone would get “hacked”.
Source: @lielnicole on TikTok
Meanwhile, the message appeared to be forwarded from an account named “gov.sg”, Nicole pointed out.
Source: @lielnicole on TikTok
When one clicks on this account, it can be seen to have a share link which includes “sgredeem2026”.
Source: @lielnicole on TikTok
This in turn leads users to a Telegram channel that looks like a “legit” government channel.
But Nicole clarified, “The Government? They don’t Telegram us. They SMS us.”
“Don’t be stupid,” she added.
Another TikToker, Cavan, said he unfortunately clicked on the link, and the message was sent to “the entire freaking universe”.
Source: @cavanhwx on TikTok
This meant that his friends and family members, and even people he hadn’t spoken to in years, received the message.
Worse still, when he tried to delete the scam messages sent from his account, he could not do so, as it was set to delete the message for himself only.
Source: @cavanhwx on TikTok
“So not only are you being scammed and hacked, you have also been an accomplice in this scamming and hacking operation,” he added.
He noted that he should have known that it was a scam from the link, which was not “gov.sg”.
Not only did he click on the link, but he also filled out his personal particulars, Cavan said.
Source: @cavanhwx on TikTok
That was another red flag, he later realised.
If the Government wanted his particulars, they would have simply asked him to log into his Singpass, he noted.
He thus warned netizens about the scam and urged them to tell others about it.
The Ministry of Finance warned about the scam in a Facebook post on Tuesday (14 July), saying it had received reports of such messages circulating in chat groups.
It advised users to check the website address carefully before clicking on links, explaining that official Government websites would use the gov.sg domain.
Source: Ministry of Finance (Singapore) on Facebook
Those who are unsure may call the ScamShield Helpline at 1799, which is operational 24/7.
According to MOF, eligible recipients of the GSTV will be notified via SMS before and after their benefits have been credited.
Recipients without a Singpass-registered mobile number will receive a letter to the address on their Singapore Identity Card.
All messages from the Government will be sent via an SMS notification from “gov.sg”, and citizens will not be asked to reply to the SMS, click any links or provide any information to the sender.
Government officials will never ask for money transfers or bank login details over the phone.
Also read: At least S$1M lost to scams impersonating Microsoft and Crypto.com
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Featured image adapted from @lielnicole on TikTok.