Identity & Fraud

Why We Built VerifySG — Two Scams, One Missing Piece

May 24, 2026 · 5 min read · Source 1 · Source 2

How can Singapore businesses verify identity to avoid fraud? VerifySG uses Singpass and CorpPass to confirm who you're really dealing with — replacing forged NRICs, fake IDs, and unverifiable phone calls with a one-link, government-backed identity check. A business sends a verification link; the other party logs in with Face ID or fingerprint; the business gets a masked name + mobile back. The result: the $2.9M forgery and the fake army orders both become impossible, because the counterparty is who the government says they are.

Two stories hit Singapore news this month. Different crimes. Same root cause. Same one-line fix.

🪪 The $2.9 Million Forgery

On April 2, 2026, Mr Elgar Kwek opened a letter from the Singapore Land Authority. A caveat had been lodged against his Katong landed property. Someone had used a forged NRIC bearing his name to secure a $2.9 million loan from a credit company.

The imposter also submitted a fabricated notice of assessment claiming $170,000 in annual income from companies Mr Kwek had never heard of.

One forged document. One trusting credit officer. Nearly three million dollars almost walked out the door.

📰 The Straits Times, May 24, 2026

🍚 The Fake Army Orders

In September 2025, a man calling himself "Luke Wong" contacted at least five eateries across Singapore. He claimed to be from Bedok army camp. He placed bulk orders — 150 packets of nasi lemak, trays of baked goods — worth thousands of dollars.

He sounded earnest. He sent WhatsApp messages. He asked for photos of the food being packed. And then he vanished.

No army camp. No Luke Wong. Just wasted food, lost revenue, and business owners left holding the bill.

📰 The Straits Times, Sep 15, 2025

Two different crimes. One identical failure.

In both cases, the victim — a credit company, an eatery — took someone at their word. They trusted a document. They trusted a voice on the phone. They trusted a WhatsApp profile picture.

And in both cases, there was a simple, instant, government-backed way to verify who they were dealing with. Nobody used it. Not because it doesn't exist — but because it wasn't easily accessible.

Singapore has one of the world's most advanced digital identity systems. Singpass lets any citizen prove who they are in seconds. CorpPass lets any business do the same. But until now, there was no simple way for a credit company, a law firm, or a restaurant to tap into it.

How VerifySG stops both scams — instantly

🛑
The $2.9M Loan Before extending credit, the company sends a Singpass link. The forger can't authenticate as Mr Kwek. Loan denied. Property safe.
🛑
The Fake Bulk Order Before accepting a large order, the eatery asks the buyer to verify via Singpass. "Luke Wong" can't — because he doesn't exist. Order refused.

What VerifySG actually does

It's a single gate. Before you do business with someone — before you extend credit, before you prepare 150 packets of nasi lemak, before you accept a property as collateral — you ask them to verify their identity via Singpass.

One WhatsApp message: verify +65 XXXX XXXX. That's it.

The customer taps a link. Singpass authenticates them with Face ID or fingerprint. You receive a government-verified masked name and mobile number — confirmation you're dealing with a real, Singpass-verified person. No document can be forged because no document is involved.

And for the firms themselves? We verify them too — through CorpPass, the government's business identity system. A scammer can't pretend to be ABC Credit Pte Ltd because they can't authenticate as that company's CorpPass entity.

Symmetric verification. Both sides verified. No weak links.

Why we built it now

Because these scams keep happening. Because the solution already exists — Singpass and CorpPass are live, mature, and trusted by millions of Singaporeans. Because the missing piece wasn't technology — it was access.

Credit companies shouldn't need to build their own OIDC integration. Law firms shouldn't need a developer to verify a client's NRIC. A restaurant owner shouldn't need to understand FAPI 2.0 compliance to check if a bulk order is legitimate.

We built VerifySG so any company — from a credit firm handling millions to a hawker handling catering orders — can verify identity with one WhatsApp message.

VerifySG

Government-verified identity for anybody or any company. Protect yourself from future scam.

$0.20
per verification. Billed monthly via Claify + Stripe. No minimum.
Learn More

VerifySG is a service of HomeAuto Solutions Pte Ltd (UEN 202014984H). Identity is confirmed via Singpass login and CorpPass OIDC, Government Technology Agency of Singapore. Customer verification returns only a masked name + mobile — we do not collect or store NRIC, biometric data, or address.

More reading
Malware That Deletes Your Singpass — The Scam Hitting Singapore's Seniors →