SINGAPORE – More than 850 people believed to have scammed victims of over $8.1 million are being investigated following a month-long operation between Singapore and Malaysia police.
The suspects, aged 15 to 77, were nabbed between Feb 10 and March 9, said the police in a statement on March 19.
They are believed to have been involved in more than 2,700 cases, including impersonation, investment, rental, internet love, job and e-commerce scams.
More than 3,400 bank accounts suspected to be linked to scams were detected and frozen by the police’s Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) and Malaysia’s National Scam Response Centre (NSRC).
Over $2 million were seized in these bank accounts.
The operation in Malaysia was led by the Royal Malaysia Police, coordinated by the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, and with the support of Bank Negara Malaysia and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission under the NSRC.
In one case, a 34-year-old man was arrested in Malaysia on Feb 28 for his alleged role in managing a scam group that impersonated police officers.
He was nabbed following an arrest warrant issued by Singapore’s State Courts and was handed over to the Singapore authorities. On March 1, he was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit cheating.
In another case, more than $34,000 was recovered in an internet love scam involving a 48-year-old woman.
The scammer had befriended the victim via an online dating app in December 2024 and gained her trust.
Believing that the scammer was in financial distress, the victim transferred over $130,000 before realising it was a scam.
ASCom traced the funds to a payment service provider’s account in Malaysia, and part of the money was recovered with the help of the NSRC.
These cases are part of project Frontier+ (Funds Recovery Operations and Networks Team, Inspiring Effective Resolution Plus).
Frontier+ was set up in October 2024 with representatives from anti-scam centres in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, South Korea and Australia.
The project focuses on enhancing international cooperation in tackling scams through seamless information sharing, coordinated responses, and knowledge exchange.
By connecting law enforcement agencies, the project aims to disrupt scam syndicates, arrest criminals and reduce financial losses for victims.
The Singapore-Malaysia operation was the first joint anti-scam effort between ASCom and Frontier+ members, and similar operations with other countries in the Frontier+ network are being planned to strengthen regional efforts against transnational scams.
Commercial Affairs Department director David Chew said the collaboration highlights the strength of Singapore’s regional partnerships in combating transnational financial crimes.
“As transnational scam syndicates become increasingly sophisticated in their structure and modus operandi, close cooperation between the Singapore and Malaysia authorities is crucial,” he said.
Scam victims in Singapore lost $1.1 billion in 2024, marking a record high amount of losses suffered in a single year.
Almost 25 per cent of this involved cryptocurrency, a surge from the 6.8 per cent of total losses in 2023.
Overall, the amount lost to scams in 2024 is around 70 per cent higher than the $651.8 million that scammers took in 2023, said the police in releasing the annual scam figures on Feb 25.
• Sherlyn Sim is a journalist at The Straits Times who covers breaking news and current events.
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