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A 38-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on 7 March 2026 for his suspected involvement in a case of Government Official Impersonation Scam (GOIS). This is the second Malaysian arrested and charged in Singapore for facilitating scam syndicates to collect cash and valuables within two days.

On 4 March 2026, the Police received a report from a victim who had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from HSBC bank. The caller informed the victim that there were unauthorised transactions made on her credit card. When she denied having a HSBC credit card, the call was transferred to a purported officer from “Commercial Affairs Department” who informed the victim that she was suspected to be involved in a case of money laundering. To prove her innocence, she was required to comply with instructions to assist in the investigation. These included making a withdrawal of $15,000 deposited into her bank account arranged by the caller and purchasing gold at Maxi Cash. The victim purchased more than $130,000 worth of gold and was instructed to leave the gold on the passenger seat of her unlocked car parked at a carpark in the vicinity of Upper Boon Keng Road. She was further instructed to leave the area while the gold was used to lure the scammer. Ten minutes later, the caller informed the victim that the scammer was arrested, and the gold had been moved to the car boot. She was then asked to go to the Police Cantonment Complex (PCC) to meet up with the investigator. The victim realised that she had been scammed when no one met up with her at PCC and she could not find the gold in her car boot.  

Through extensive follow-up investigations, officers from the Commercial Affairs Department promptly identified and arrested the man in the vicinity of Woodlands on 6 March 2026. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had been tasked by unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect documents, valuables or cash from scam victims and hand it over to other unknown persons. He is also believed to have used fake staff passes to identify himself before collecting cash and valuables from scam victims. Fake staff passes and fake documents impersonating fraudulent companies were found in his possession and seized as case exhibits.

The man will be charged with the offence of 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 and valuables from scam victims. With effect from 30 December 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, up to a maximum of 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. 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 take a serious stance against any person who may be involved in scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Members of the public are reminded to:

• Never transfer cash, jewellery or other valuables to unknown persons whose identity has not been verified. 
• Never leave money or valuables at a location to facilitate subsequent collection. 
• Never share the screen of your device or disclose login credentials to anyone you do not know.

Singapore Government officials will never: 

• Ask you to transfer money over the phone;   
• Request your banking login details;   
• Instruct you to install mobile apps from unofficial app stores; or  
• Transfer your call to the Police.

If you have any information relating to such crimes or are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit information 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. 

Photos of fake staff passes

Photos of fake documents