M'sian man, 31, allegedly impersonated MAS official in scam

A 31-year-old Malaysian man was charged in court on Aug. 25 for his suspected involvement in impersonating a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) official.

He allegedly scammed a victim into believing he was implicated in a money-laundering investigation, the police said in an Aug. 24 statement.

Victim instructed to surrender funds

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) received a report from a victim on Aug. 12, where the victim was told that he had been implicated in a money-laundering investigation and was instructed to surrender funds for investigative purposes.

The victim followed the scammer's instructions and handed over S$50,000 in cash to the man, who acted as a money mule.

Officers from the Anti-Scam Command established the identity of the man, and he was subsequently arrested on Aug. 24 when he re-entered Singapore.

Preliminary investigations found the man to be allegedly involved in at least four similar cases, where he was tasked by unknown persons to collect cash from such victims.

Such money was then collected and handed over to the unknown persons.

The man was charged in court on Aug. 25 for assisting another to retain benefits from criminal conduct.

If convicted, he may face an imprisonment term of up to 10 years, a fine up to S$500,000, or both.

The police reminded the public never to transfer money or other valuables to any unknown person.

They also noted that government officials would never ask members of the public to do any of the following over a phone call:

1. Transfer money
2. Disclose bank login details
3. Install mobile apps from unofficial app stores
4. Transfer your call to the police

Anyone with information related to such crimes or suspects to be a victim of such crime can call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness.

All information will be kept strictly confidential.

For more information on scams, the public can visit www.scamshield.gov.sg or call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799.

Top image via MAS/LinkedIn and Canva