Elderly woman told to hand over cash and jewellery as she's under investigation for $2.5m money laundering case
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 governmen
tofficial impersonation scams (GOIS).
On Jan 30, the police received a report from an elderly woman stating that she had received a call from someone claiming to be from Trust Bank. The caller alleged that her SingPass had been misused to apply for a Trust credit card and that unauthorised transactions had been made.
When the victim denied having a Trust credit card, the call was transferred to a person purporting to be from the "Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of Singapore".
She was told that she was under investigation for a $2.5 million money laundering case, and was instructed to hand over her available cash, watches and jewellery to an "investigation officer". The jewellery was worth more than $90,000.
Later that day, the victim placed her valuables in a black bag and handed over it to the 22-year-old Malaysian man in the vicinity of Bishan Street 12.
The caller then directed her to withdraw her fixed deposit and transfer the funds to another bank account.
"The victim's son intervened in time, preventing the transfer from being completed," the police said in a news release on Feb 5.
In another case, the police received a report on Feb 4 in which a victim was contacted by a caller claiming to be from HSBC Bank.
The caller informed her of unauthorised transactions on a HSBC credit card under her name. When she denied having a HSBC credit card, the call was transferred to a person claiming to represent MHA, who alleged that she was involved in a money laundering case.
As part of the investigation, the victim was instructed to hand over her gold jewellery and valuables worth around $62,900 to an "investigation officer".
The victim complied, handing the items to the same 22-year-old Malaysian man in the vicinity of Seletar Hills Estate that day.
She was then asked to provide details of her bank accounts and to consolidate her available funds into a single account for transfer to an unknown account for "investigation purposes".
Sensing something was amiss, the victim contacted the police, and the money transfer was aborted.
Through extensive ground enquiries and follow-up investigations, officers from the Anti-Scam Command and Tanglin Police Division swiftly established the identity of the 22-year-old man.
He was subsequently arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint while attempting to leave Singapore on Feb 4. Valuables belonging to the second victim were found in his possession.
In a separate case, the police received a report on Jan 23 in which a victim received a call from person purported to be from UnionPay Insurance. The caller claimed that the victim held multiple insurance policies.
The call was transferred to an "MHA officer" who told her that she was implicated in a money laundering case. As part of the investigation, the victim was instructed to hand over $10,000 to an "investigation officer".
The cash was handed over the to the 20-year-old Singaporean man the same day.
Following the report, officers from the Anti-Scam Command established the identity of the 20-year-old man. He was also arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint while attempting to leave Singapore on Feb 4.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the duo had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons, believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate, to collect cash, gold and valuables from scam victims, and pass them on to other unknown parties.
Both men will be charged in court on Feb 6 for an offence of abetment by conspiracy to 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 10 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.
The men are also suspected to be involved in other similar cases, and the police will seek a remand order to facilitate further investigations into additional suspected cases linked to the duo.
The police continue to observe an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals crossing into Singapore to act as cash- and valuables-collectors for scam syndicates.
With effect from Dec 30, 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, SingPass offences under the Computer Misuse Act and certain SIM-card offences under the Miscellaneous Offences (Public Order and Nuisance) Act.
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 be subject to restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.
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. 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 you do not 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 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.
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