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The Police have arrested a 21-year-old Malaysian man for his suspected involvement in a case of Government Official Impersonation Scam (GOIS). This brings the total to 6 Malaysians arrested and charged for similar cases of GOIS within two weeks. 

On 29 January 2026, the Police received a report from a victim who had received a call from an unknown person claiming to be from HSBC. The caller informed the victim that there were unauthorised charges on a HSBC card registered under the victim’s name. When the victim denied having a HSBC credit card, her call was transferred to individuals who identified themselves as being from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw). 

These impersonators created a sense of urgency and fear, falsely claiming the victim was under investigation for money laundering. They convinced her to hand over her gold bracelets and jewellery, worth more than $80,000, under the guise of "safekeeping" during their fabricated investigation. She later realised that she had been scammed and lodged a police report.

Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command established the identity of the 21-year-old man and arrested him on 19 March 2026. He is suspected of being involved in at least two other GOIS cases. 

The man will be charged on 20 March 2026 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 have observed 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. 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 Ministry of Law 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.