Landing page banner

A 22-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on 12 June 2026 for his suspected involvement in a Government Officials Impersonation Scam (GOIS). This brings the total number of Malaysians charged in Singapore since March 2026 for facilitating scam syndicates to collect cash and valuables in relation to GOIS to more than 30.

On 9 June 2026, the Police received a report from a victim who had received a call from an unknown person who claimed to be a Police Officer from the Anti-Scam Centre and said that her bank account had been compromised. Although the victim checked her bank account and found that it was still in her control, the scammer managed to convince her to make a fund transfer of money into a specified bank account and later instructed her to surrender her gold jewellery for safekeeping. The victim later met up with the 22-year-old Malaysian man and handed him an envelope containing her gold jewellery. She later realised that she had been scammed and lodged a police report.

Through follow-up investigations, officers from the Jurong Police Division and Anti-Scam Command established the identity of the man and arrested him on 10 June 2026. Preliminary investigations revealed that the man had been tasked by unknown individuals, believed to be members of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect valuables or cash from scam victims and hand them over to other unknown individuals in Singapore.

The man will be charged in court on 12 June 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 ten 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. 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.

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.

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, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.