The Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), together with six other law enforcement agencies namely Hong Kong SAR’s Anti-Deception Coordination Centre, the Republic of Korea’s National Counter Scam Centre, Malaysia's National Scam Response Centre, the Republic of Maldives' Anti-Scam Centre, Thailand’s Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre, and Macao SAR’s Anti-Fraud Co-Ordination Centre involving a total of 2,784 officers, conducted a month-long anti-scam operation between 28 April 2025 and 28 May 2025. More than 1,800 subjects were arrested, and 33,900 subjects were investigated for their suspected involvement in scam activities. The subjects, aged between 14 and 81, are believed to be involved in more than 9,200 scam cases, comprising mainly government official impersonation scams, investment scams, rental scams, internet love scams, friend impersonation scams, job scams, and e-commerce scams, where victims reportedly lost over S$289 million (approximately USD225 million). More than 32,600 bank accounts suspected to be linked to scams were detected and frozen by the participating law enforcement agencies, with more than S$26.2 million (approximately USD20 million) seized in these bank accounts.
Key outcomes in Singapore
In this operation, 545 subjects were investigated, and another 106 subjects were arrested in Singapore. These subjects were involved in more than 1,300 local scam cases which resulted in approximately S$39.3 million (USD30.6 million) losses. A total of more than S$7.69 million (USD5.90 million) were seized in 714 frozen bank accounts.
Investigations against all the subjects are ongoing for the following offences:
- Abetment to cheating under Section 417 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code 1871 (“PC”)
- Abetment to unauthorised access to computer material under Section 3(1) read with Section 12 of the Computer Misuse Act 1993 (“CMA”)
- Assisting another to retain benefits of drug dealing or benefits from criminal conduct in certain circumstances, under Section 55A of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992 (“CDSA”)
- Assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under Section 51 of the CDSA
- Unlawful disclosure of password or access code in relation to national digital identity service under Section 8A of the CMA
In end April 2025, in two separate cases of Chinese Services Impersonation Scam, the victims were instructed to transfer S$25,000 and S$45,000 respectively to local bank accounts provided by the scammer. The victims eventually realised that they had fallen prey to scam and lodged a police report. The Anti-Scam Centre analysed the funds trail and found that part of their funds had left to bank accounts in Malaysia on the same day when they performed their transaction. With the swift assistance from Malaysia's National Scam Response Centre, more than S$19,000 in total were successfully recovered in the bank accounts in Malaysia. These two cases have proven the effectiveness of Operation FRONTIER+ in carrying out cross-border recoveries.
Director CAD, Mr David Chew said, “In today's digital age, scam syndicates operate without geographical constraints, employing increasingly sophisticated methods across multiple jurisdictions to defraud victims and launder their illicit proceeds. A transnational threat requires a transnational response. No single jurisdiction has an adequate answer to this scourge, but we are collectively stronger together. Operation FRONTIER+ epitomises the effectiveness of international cooperation in fighting scams. This joint effort demonstrates our shared commitment to disrupting transnational scam syndicates. By combining our resources and enforcement capabilities, we are creating a united front against scam. We will continue strengthening these international partnerships to ensure our citizens are safe from scams and scammers have no safe haven.”
Operation FRONTIER+
The establishment of cross-border Anti-Scam collaboration platform, FRONTIER+, comprising representatives from anti-scam centres of ten jurisdictions, namely Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, Malaysia, Thailand, the Republic of Maldives, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Macao SAR, Canada and Indonesia, is essential to bolster international cooperation and combat the growing threat of scams. The FRONTIER+ initiative serves as a crucial cross-border alliance, enabling law enforcement agencies to work seamlessly together in dismantling scam syndicates and their operations.
Building on this foundation, FRONTIER+ will maintain its core functions of real-time intelligence exchange and analysis, whilst conducting periodic joint operations across jurisdictions. The platform aims to broaden its reach by welcoming new member countries and regions, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of enforcement efforts against transnational crime.
Annex
Photographs of operations executed by law enforcement agencies ▼
Press Conference in Hong Kong on 3 June 2025 ▼
Photo credit: Hong Kong Police Force
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
04 June 2025 @ 4:35 PM