Landing page banner

The Police have arrested one male Malaysian, aged 31, for his suspected involvement in several cases of government official impersonation scam (“GOIS”).

Between 12 July 2025 and 8 August 2025, the Police received several reports of GOIS where victims had allegedly handed over cash to unknown men after being contacted by persons claiming to be from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Victims of this scam variant would be informed that their bank accounts had been implicated in money laundering activities, or that their personal information had been compromised, and be prompted to surrender their money or valuables to other persons, or transfer money to a specified bank account to assist in investigations. After complying with instructions, the victims would realise they had been scammed only when they failed to receive their refunds, or the scammers became uncontactable.

Pursuant to the reports, officers from the Anti-Scam Command conducted extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations and established the identity of the man who was believed to be part of a scam syndicate and traced his location to Malaysia.

With strong cooperation and assistance from the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), the man was arrested in Malaysia on 16 September 2025, pursuant to the warrant of arrest issued by the State Courts of Singapore. The man was handed over to the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on 17 September 2025. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had allegedly been assisting scam syndicate to collect cash from victims of GOIS before handing over to other syndicate members.

The man will be charged in court on 18 September 2025 with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assist another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 read with Section 109 and Section 108B of the Penal Code 1871. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, or a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both. 

The Police take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. The Police would like to remind members of the public never to transfer monies, hand monies or other valuables to any unknown persons or persons whose identity you did not verify. 

The Police would also like to inform members of the public that government officials will never do the following over a phone call:

1. Ask you to transfer money;  
2. Ask you to disclose bank log-in details; 
3. Ask you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores;  
4. Ask you to hand over any pre-signed cash cheques to anyone; and   
5. Transfer your call to Police

If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. If you require urgent Police assistance, please dial ‘999’. For more information on scams, members of the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.  

Photo of the 31-year-old man being escorted by SPF officers