Joint Singapore-Malaysia Anti-Scam Operation Combats Cross-Border Crimes, Investigates Over 850 Suspects

The Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) of the Singapore Police Force (SPF), in collaboration with Malaysia’s National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), concluded a month-long anti-scam operation between 10 February 2025 and 9 March 2025. 

The operation resulted in more than 850 individuals, aged between 15 and 77, being investigated across Singapore and Malaysia. These individuals are suspected of involvement in over 2,700 scam cases, including mainly government official impersonation scams, investment scams, rental scams, internet love scams, friend impersonation scams, job scams, and e-commerce scams. These scams caused victims to lose more than SGD$8.1 million.

As part of the operation, the ASCom and the NSRC detected and froze over 3,400 bank accounts allegedly linked to scam activities. More than SGD$2 million was seized from these accounts.

On 28 February 2025, the authorities arrested a 34-year-old man in Malaysia. The suspect allegedly managed a group of scammers impersonating police officers in government official impersonation scams. Following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the State Courts of Singapore, the suspect was handed over to the SPF. On 1 March 2025, the man was charged in the State Courts with criminal conspiracy to commit cheating.

Another highlighted case involved a 48-year-old woman who fell victim to an internet love scam after befriending a scammer through an online dating application in December 2024. The scammer gained her trust and requested financial assistance, leading her to transfer over SGD$130,000.

Upon realizing the scam, the victim filed a police report. The ASCom and the NSRC worked closely to analyze, identify, and seize illicit cross-border funds movements. The ASCom traced the transferred funds to a payment service provider’s account in Malaysia. Through assistance from the NSRC, over SGD$34,000 was successfully recovered.