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Three Malaysian men and one Malaysian woman, aged 24 to 30, will be charged in court on 21 January 2026 for their suspected involvement in three separate cases of Government Official Impersonation Scam (GOIS).

In the first case, the Police received a report on 22 October 2025 from a victim who had fallen prey to a sophisticated Government Official Impersonation Scam, and suffered losses exceeding $1.1 million. The scammers impersonated government officials to deceive victims into transferring large sums of money. Investigations revealed that the stolen funds were rapidly laundered through a complex network of payment channels and withdrawals via ATMs in Malaysia within hours of the transfers.

Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command, in collaboration with Commercial Crime Investigation Department of the Royal Malaysia Police, established the identities of the two men, aged 24 and 30, and arrested them on 20 January 2026. Preliminary investigations revealed that the two men were involved in assisting scam syndicate to withdraw cash from ATMs in Malaysia using payment channel cards belonging to scam mules. The withdrawn cash were then handed over to unknown persons, forming part of the money laundering operation.

In the second case, the Police received a report on 19 January 2026 where the victim received a call from an unknown person purportedly from HSBC bank, informing him of unauthorised transactions on a HSBC credit card under his name. When he denied having a HSBC credit card, the call was transferred to “Monetary Authority of Singapore” where he was notified that he was suspected to be involved in a case of money laundering. As part of the investigation, the victim was instructed to withdraw money from his bank account and to hand over the money to an investigation officer. On the same day, he withdrew $50,000 and handed over the money to a 28-year-old man, who was the supposed investigation officer, in the vicinity of Jurong point. The man was subsequently arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint when he attempted to depart from Singapore on the same day. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash from scam victims and would then hand over the cash to other unknown persons.

In the third case, the Police received a report on 19 January 2026 where an elderly victim received a call on the same day from an unknown person purportedly from M1 Singapore, asking if she had subscribed to any lines under the said telco, which she denied. She then received another call from another unknown person purportedly from “Monetary Authority of Singapore” who informed that she was under investigation and instructed her to provide information of her bank accounts. She was told to prepare cash and to hand them over for investigation and safekeeping by “Monetary Authority of Singapore”. The victim was also warned that she would be arrested if she had failed to comply with the instructions. Out of fear, the victim handed over $15,000 to a 26-year-old woman at the void deck of her residence. She was subsequently told to hand over another $9,000. Feeling something was amiss, the victim called for Police assistance. Upon Police’s arrival, the said woman was located and successfully detained. Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman was also believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash from scam victims and would then hand over the cash to other unknown persons.

The four persons will be charged in court on 21 January 2026. The two men in the first case will be charged with the offence of abetting unknown persons to secure unauthorised access to the bank’s computer system, under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993. The offence carries an imprisonment term not exceeding two years, a fine not exceeding $5,000, or both, for a first-time offender. The other two persons in the second and third cases will be charged with the offence of abetment by conspiracy to assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.

The Police continue to observe an increasing trend of Malaysian Nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from scam victims. 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. With effect from 30 December 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least 6 strokes, which can go up to 24 strokes. Scam mules who enable scammers by laundering scam proceeds will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. This includes certain money-laundering offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act; Singpass offences under the Computer Misuse Act; and certain SIM-card offences under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act. 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.

Under the Facility Restriction Framework, individuals involved in mule-related offences – whether they are under investigation and assessed to be at risk, or have been warned, issued with composition sums, prosecuted, or convicted – may face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.

The Police would like to remind members of the public to NEVER transfer or hand monies/ valuables to unknown persons and persons whose identity you did not verify. NEVER place monies or valuables at a physical location to facilitate subsequent collection. Do not share the screens of your devices with any unknown persons. Singapore Government officials, including those from the Ministry of Law and Monetary Authority of Singapore, will never ask members of the public to do the following things 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. 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.