Singapore Police Freeze 300+ Scam-Related Bank Accounts with Help from Local Banks

From mid-February to early March, the Commercial Affairs Department Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) and Police Land Divisions’ Scam Strike Teams, with the support of local banks, launched a crackdown on fraudulent activities.

In 2024, Singaporeans lost about US$1.1 billion to fraud, much of which was attributed to government official impersonation scams, investment scams and job scams.

By working closely with local banks, Singapore authorities manaed to trace the funds of scam victims, freezing more than 300 related bank accounts and seizing about $1.9 million in scam proceeds.

At the same time, Singapore launched raids on “money mules” in the island and arrested 25 people aged between 18 and 40 in connection with the scam. A further 65 people are being investigated.

Working with key industry players such as social media platforms, phone application messaging platforms and telecommunication companies, the Singapore Police Force has successfully disrupted more than 1,300 online fraud facilitators and terminated more than 1,700 fraudulent phone lines.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said, “The Police take a serious stance against any person who is involved in facilitating scams, and perpetrators will be dealt with in accordance with the law. To avoid being an accomplice to crime, members of the public should always reject requests by others to use their SingPass credentials, bank accounts or mobile lines, as one could be held accountable if these are linked to crimes.”

“Government officials will never ask members of the public to transfer money to bank accounts or request for their banking, SingPass or CPF related information over the phone. To avoid falling prey to investment scams, members of public are strongly advised to exercise caution when making any investment decisions. No legitimate investment company will ask investors to transfer money to personal bank accounts or use group chats to sell investment products.,” the authority added.