How to check if a Singapore company is real

TrustScore.SG editorial team Published Last reviewed

A scam can borrow the name of a real company. A registered company can also be used in a scam. There are two questions to answer. Does the business exist? Is the person contacting you really from it? These five checks cover both.

1. Look up the company on ACRA BizFile

Every business registered in Singapore has a Unique Entity Number (UEN). Search the business name or UEN on BizFile (bizfile.gov.sg), run by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). The free search shows basic details, including the registered name, UEN and status.

  • Does the registered name match the name on the invoice, website or contract exactly?
  • Is the status live, not struck off or ceased?
  • Does the registration date fit the story? A company claiming 15 years of trading should not have registered last month.

2. If they handle money or investments, check MAS

Businesses that offer banking, payments, insurance or investment services generally need a licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Search for the firm in the MAS Financial Institutions Directory. Then check the MAS Investor Alert List, which names unregulated persons that may have been wrongly perceived as regulated by MAS.

3. Contact the company through details you found yourself

Impersonators copy a real company's name, UEN and logo. Get the phone number or email from the company's official website, which you open by typing the address yourself, not from the message, ad or call you received. Then ask the company to confirm the request.

4. Check the business on Scam.SG

Search the business on Scam.SG to see its TrustScore and any scam reports filed by the public. A low TrustScore means fewer trust signals are visible. It is not a finding that the business is a scam, so read it together with the checks above.

5. If something does not add up, stop and get help

Do not pay. Call the ScamShield Helpline on 1799 or visit scamshield.gov.sg for advice. If you have already transferred money, call your bank immediately and make a police report.

Checklist

  • Registered name and UEN match on BizFile
  • Status is live
  • MAS licence checked, if financial services are involved
  • Not on the MAS Investor Alert List
  • Contact details taken from the official website
  • Scam.SG profile and reports checked

Sources