16 Malaysian nationals arrested for scamming $1M from Singaporeans

The operation was dismantled through cooperation between Singaporean and Malaysian police forces, according to Singaporean authorities cited by The Straits Times. The suspects, aged between 24 and 43, were apprehended at an office complex and have been charged with criminal conspiracy to commit cheating by a Malaysian court.

Investigations revealed that the scammers posed as bank employees, informing Singaporean victims that their credit cards had been used without authorization or that suspicious transactions had occurred in their bank accounts. Scammers also impersonated government officials and police officers, falsely accusing victims of crimes such as money laundering and requesting transfers of funds to specified bank accounts.

Authorities reported that at least 1,100 scam cases were filed between January and October 2024. The arrested individuals were allegedly involved in around 50 of these cases, according to the Channel News Asia.