The Police will be charging a 22-year-old Malaysian man and a 20-year-old Singaporean man for their suspected involvement in several cases of Government Official Impersonation Scam (GOIS).
On 30 January 2026, the Police received a report from an elderly woman who said she received a call from someone claiming to be from Trust Bank. The caller claimed her SingPass had been misused to apply for a Trust credit card and that unauthorized transactions had occurred. When the woman denied owning such a card, the call was transferred to a person pretending to be from the “Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of Singapore.” She was told she was under investigation for a $2.5 million money laundering case and instructed to hand over her cash, watches, and jewelry to an “investigation officer.” The jewelry alone was worth more than $90,000. Later that day, the victim placed her valuables in a black bag and handed them over to the 22-year-old Malaysian man near Bishan Street 12. The caller then urged her to withdraw her fixed deposit and transfer the funds to another account — but her son intervened in time, stopping the transaction.
In a separate incident on 4 February 2026, another victim was contacted by someone posing as an HSBC Bank representative. The caller claimed unauthorized transactions had been made on a credit card under her name. When she denied having an HSBC card, the call was transferred to a person claiming to represent MHA, who accused her of being involved in money laundering. She was ordered to hand over gold jewelry and other valuables worth approximately $62,900 to an “investigation officer.” She complied — delivering the items to the same 22-year-old Malaysian man near Seletar Hills Estate that day. She was then asked to consolidate all her bank funds into one account for transfer to an unknown recipient “for investigation purposes.” Suspicious, she contacted the Police — and the transfer was halted.
Through intensive ground investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command and Tanglin Police Division quickly identified the 22-year-old man. He was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on 4 February 2026 while attempting to leave Singapore. Valuables belonging to the second victim were found in his possession.
In another case reported on 23 January 2026, a victim received a call from someone claiming to be from UnionPay Insurance. The caller said she held multiple insurance policies, then transferred her to an “MHA officer” who accused her of involvement in a money laundering case. She was told to hand over $10,000 to an “investigation officer” — which she did, giving the cash to the 20-year-old Singaporean man on the same day.
Following this report, officers from the Anti-Scam Command identified the 20-year-old man. He too was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint on 4 February 2026 while trying to exit Singapore.
Preliminary investigations suggest the two men were hired by unknown individuals believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, tasked with collecting cash, gold, and valuables from victims and passing them on to other unknown parties.
Both men will be charged in court on 6 February 2026 with abetment by conspiracy to assist another in retaining benefits from criminal conduct, under Section 51 of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992. This offense carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of no more than $500,000, or both. Authorities also suspect them in other similar cases and will seek a remand order to further investigate additional suspected crimes linked to the pair.
The Police have observed a rising trend of Malaysian nationals entering Singapore specifically to act as cash and valuables collectors for scam syndicates. Since 30 December 2025, scammers and members or recruiters of such syndicates face mandatory caning of at least six strokes — up to a maximum of 24. Scam mules who enable fraud by laundering proceeds may face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes. This applies to certain money-laundering offenses under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act, SingPass offenses under the Computer Misuse Act, and certain SIM-card violations under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.
Under the Facility Restriction Framework, anyone involved in mule-related offenses — whether under investigation, warned, fined, prosecuted, or convicted — may have their banking services and mobile line subscriptions restricted to prevent further scam facilitation.
The Police take a firm stance against anyone involved in scams, and offenders will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The public is reminded to:
- Never transfer cash, jewelry, or other valuables to unknown persons whose identity has not been verified.
- Never leave money or valuables at a location for someone else to collect later.
- Never share your device screen or disclose login credentials to anyone you don’t know.
Singapore government officials, including those from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will never:
- Ask you to transfer money over the phone;
- Request your banking login details;
- Instruct you to install apps from unofficial app stores; or
- Transfer your call directly to the Police.
If you have any information about such crimes or are unsure whether a call is legitimate, please call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit tips online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. All information will be kept strictly confidential. For urgent police assistance, dial ‘999’. For more details on scams, visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.
PHOTO OF RECOVERED VALUABLES
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
05 February 2026 @ 9:20 PM
