Third Malaysian arrested within 7 days for allegedly collecting cash for scam syndicate
A 40-year-old Malaysian man will be charged in court on March 12 for his suspected involvement in a government official impersonation scam.
He is the third Malaysian arrested and charged for similar scam-related cases within seven days, the police said in a news release.
The police received a report on March 10 from a victim who had received a call from someone claiming to be from telecommunications company M1.
The caller told the victim that a new iPhone 17 Pro Max worth $8,000 had been purchased and that a monthly payment of $350 would be charged to her account.
When the victim denied having an M1 account or making such a purchase, she was given a contact number to cancel the subscription.
The victim contacted the number via WhatsApp and was sent a photo of an M1 contract containing her personal particulars.
She was later contacted via video call by another person claiming to be an officer from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, who accused her of being involved in money laundering activities.
The caller instructed the victim to pack all her valuables into a bag and hand them over to an unknown person at her void deck, providing her with a secret code for verification.
Suspicious, the victim called the police.
Officers from the Anti-Scam Command arrested the man on the same day when he attempted to collect the valuables from the victim.
Cash amounting to $5,000, believed to belong to another scam victim, was found in his possession and seized.
Preliminary investigations revealed the man had allegedly been tasked by unknown persons believed to be part of a transnational scam syndicate to collect cash from scam victims and pass it to other individuals.
He will be charged with assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years' jail, a fine of up to $500,000, or both.
The police said they have observed an increasing trend of Malaysian nationals travelling to Singapore to assist scam syndicates in collecting cash and valuables from victims.
They added that scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates now face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, up to 24 strokes, while scam mules who help launder scam proceeds may face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes.
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 face restrictions on banking services and mobile line subscriptions to prevent further facilitation of scams.
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 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, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit information online. All information will be kept strictly confidential.
If you require urgent police assistance, 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.
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