Four Malaysian nationals are set to be charged on Wednesday, January 21, for their suspected involvement in three separate scam cases involving impersonation of government officials.
The cases involved significant financial losses and are believed to be linked to transnational scam syndicates.
In the first case, a victim lost more than S$1.1 million after being deceived by scammers posing as government officials who convinced the victim to transfer large sums of money.
The victim lodged a police report on October 22. Investigations found that the stolen funds were quickly laundered through a complex web of payment channels and ATM withdrawals in Malaysia within hours of the transfers.
Officers from Singapore's Anti-Scam Command, working with the Royal Malaysia Police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department, identified and arrested two Malaysian men aged 24 and 30 on January 20.
Preliminary investigations showed that the pair allegedly assisted the scam syndicate by withdrawing cash from Malaysian ATMs using payment cards belonging to scam mules, before handing the money to unknown individuals as part of the laundering process.
In the second case, a victim reported on January 19 that he had received a call from a person claiming to be from HSBC Bank, who alleged there were unauthorised transactions on a credit card under the victim's name. When the victim said he did not hold an HSBC card, the call was transferred to a person posing as an officer from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), who claimed the victim was under investigation for money laundering.
Believing the claims, the victim was instructed to withdraw cash and hand it over for investigation. He subsequently withdrew S$50,000 and passed the money to a 28-year-old man posing as an investigation officer near Jurong Point.
The man was arrested later that day at Woodlands Checkpoint while attempting to leave Singapore. Police said preliminary findings indicate he was tasked by unknown persons to collect cash from scam victims and pass it to others.
In the third case, an elderly victim lodged a report on January 19 after receiving a call from a person claiming to be from telecommunications firm M1. After denying any subscription under her name, she received a follow-up call from someone purporting to be from the MAS, who claimed she was under investigation. The victim was instructed to prepare cash and warned that she would be arrested if she failed to comply.
Out of fear, the victim handed over S$15,000 to a 26-year-old woman at the void deck of her residence and was later asked to provide an additional S$9,000. Sensing something was wrong, the victim contacted the police, who responded promptly and detained the woman. Investigations suggest the woman was also acting on behalf of a transnational scam syndicate.
Police said the two men arrested in the first case will be charged with abetting unknown persons to gain unauthorised access to a bank's computer system, an offence punishable by up to two years' jail, a fine of up to S$50,000, or both.
The suspects in the second and third cases will be charged with abetment by conspiracy to assist in retaining benefits from criminal conduct, which carries penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment, a fine of up to S$500,000, or both.
The police noted a rising trend of Malaysians travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash, gold and valuables from victims. They warned that scammers and those who recruit or facilitate scam activities face mandatory caning of between six and 24 strokes, while scam mules may face up to 12 strokes at the court's discretion.
Authorities also cautioned that individuals linked to mule-related offences may have their banking services and mobile phone lines restricted to prevent further scams. Members of the public were reminded never to hand over money or valuables to people whose identities cannot be verified, and not to share device screens or follow instructions from unsolicited callers.
The police emphasised that government officials, including officers from the Ministry of Law and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, will never ask members of the public over the phone to transfer money, disclose banking details, install apps from unofficial sources, or transfer calls to the police.
