The Police have arrested two men, and a woman, aged between 22 and 39, for their suspected involvement in a case of Government Official Impersonation Scam (“GOIS”).
On 21 May 2025, the Police received a report that a 68-year-old woman had fallen victim to a GOIS, suffering losses amounting to $97,800. The victim had been deceived by scammers posing as staff from Monetary Authority of Singapore, who convinced the victim that she had been implicated in a money-laundering offence and was required to surrender her money for investigations.
Through extensive ground enquiries and follow up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) arrested the trio on 22 May 2025 in the vicinity of Bendemeer Road after the victim handed over the money to one of the three suspects.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the 38-year-old man was tasked to collect cash from the victim and for it to be handed over to the 22-year-old man. The 38-year-old man and the 39-year-old woman arrived together at the location, however only the man met the victim during the transaction. The other 22-year-old man was loitering around the vicinity when the transaction took place. Police officers managed to identify the trio and arrested them swiftly after the transaction.
The 22-year-old man will be charged in court on 24 May 2025 while investigations against the 38-year-old man and 39-year-old woman are ongoing. The 38-year-old man was also found in possession of substances believed to be controlled drugs and the suspected drug-related offences have been referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau.
The trio is being investigated for the alleged offences of cheating. The offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code 1871 carries an imprisonment term of up to ten years and a fine.
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. To avoid being an accomplice to crimes, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use your bank account or mobile lines as you will be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.
The Police would like to inform members of the public that government officials will never, over a phone call, ask you to transfer money, disclose banking log-in details, install mobile apps from unofficial app stores or transfer your call to the Police. Government officials from other countries do not have legal powers to require members of the public in Singapore to perform such actions. The public are to call the Singapore Police if an alleged Chinese government official meets you in person in Singapore to pay money to him or to receive and sign documents for bail or investigation purposes.
Members of the public are encouraged to adopt the following crime prevention measures:
- ADD – Add the ScamShield app and set security features (e.g. set up transaction limits for internet banking transactions, enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Multifactor Authentication for banks and e-wallets, use the Money Lock feature of your bank to “lock up” a portion of your money so that it cannot be transferred out digitally by anyone, further protecting your savings from scams). Do not disclose your personal information, bank/card details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to anyone.
- CHECK – Check for scam signs with official sources such as the ScamShield App. Call and check with the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
- TELL – Tell the authorities, family, and friends about scams. Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately and make a police report.
If you have any information relating to such crimes or if you are in doubt, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it 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.
Case Exhibits Seized ▼
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
23 May 2025 @ 7:36 PM