73-year-old Malaysian woman arrested for alleged role in MAS impersonation scam
A 73-year-old Malaysian woman was arrested for allegedly acting as a money mule for scammers posing as MAS officers. Police seized cash amounting to S$200 and gold bars worth about S$200,000. Investigations are ongoing.
- A 73-year-old Malaysian woman was arrested for allegedly acting as a mule for scammers impersonating MAS officials, with S$200 in cash and about S$200,000 worth of gold bars seized.
- Victims were tricked into believing their bank accounts were involved in money laundering and were instructed to hand over cash and gold to an “agent”.
- Police urge the public to stay vigilant, noting that genuine officers will never request money transfers, banking details, or app installations over the phone.
SINGAPORE: A 73-year-old Malaysian woman has been arrested on suspicion of acting as a mule for a scam syndicate that impersonated government officials, with police seizing S$200 in cash and gold bars worth about S$200,000 from her.
Police said the woman is believed to have been involved in at least three cases in which scammers posed as government officials.
The authorities received several reports between 8 October and 24 November about individuals impersonating Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) officials.
On 24 November, an employee at BullionStar, a gold and silver dealership along New Bridge Road, alerted the police after noticing a woman loitering suspiciously outside the shop.
Officers from the Central Police Division subsequently arrested her on the same day.
According to the police, the scam syndicate’s modus operandi involved deceiving victims into believing that their bank accounts were linked to money-laundering activities or that their personal data had been compromised.
Victims were then instructed to surrender their cash and valuables, including gold bars, to an “agent” for a supposed investigation.
Many only realised they had been scammed when promised refunds failed to materialise and the scammers became uncontactable.
Preliminary investigations suggest the arrested woman had been tasked with collecting cash and gold bars from victims across Singapore.
The police have urged the public to remain vigilant and to never transfer money or hand over valuables to unknown individuals.
They also reminded the public that genuine government officers will never ask for money transfers, banking details, or the installation of unverified mobile applications over the phone.
Investigations into the woman’s involvement are ongoing.
Surge in Government Impersonation Scams
Government-official impersonation scams have surged in Singapore, with victims losing S$126.5 million in the first half of 2025 alone.
Figures from the Singapore Police Force’s (SPF) mid-year scam and cybercrime report, released on 30 August, show that cases rose from 589 in the first half of 2024 to 1,762 over the same period this year.
Losses also increased sharply, climbing 88.3 per cent compared with the S$67.2 million recorded a year earlier.
In these scams, fraudsters pose as officers from government agencies such as the police, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, or the Monetary Authority of Singapore, targeting victims with urgent calls or messages to extract money.
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