Landing page banner

A 38-year-old Singaporean man will be charged in court on 14 March 2026 for his suspected involvement in a case of Government Officials Impersonation Scam (GOIS).

On 10 February 2026, the Police received a report from the victim who had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from HSBC Bank. The caller informed her of a HSBC Bank credit card under her name. When she denied having a HSBC credit card, the call was transferred to a person claiming to be from the Ministry of Law, and later to another person claiming to be from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, who alleged that she was involved in a money laundering case. As part of the investigation, the victim was instructed to hand over her valuables for safe-keeping purposes. 

The victim complied, handing over valuables consisting gold and luxury watches worth more than $920,000 in total over two occasions to different individuals. The victim subsequently realised she had been scammed and lodged a police report.

Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command, Tanglin Police Division and Police Operations Command Centre established the identity of the 38-year-old man, who had collected valuables from the other individuals involved in the scam. The man was subsequently arrested on 13 March 2026.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the 38-year-old man had received valuables from unknown persons on numerous occasions, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate. Cash amounting to more than $92,500, a cash counting machine and three mobile devices were seized as case exhibits.

The man will be charged in court on 14 March 2026 for an offence of abetment by conspiracy to possess or use property from criminal conduct under Section 55 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. The offence carries an imprisonment term of up to three years, a fine not exceeding $150,000, or both. He is also suspected to be involved in other similar cases.

The Police continue to observe an increasing trend of individuals assisting scam syndicates by 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, SingPass offences under the Computer Misuse Act and certain SIM-card offences under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.

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 be subject to 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, including those from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, 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, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.

PHOTO OF SEIZED EXHIBITS