SINGAPORE: Singapore and Malaysian authorities have conducted a sweeping month-long joint operation targeting transnational scam syndicates, leading to more than 850 individuals being investigated for allegedly scamming victims of over S$8.1 million (RM28.4 million).
The suspects, aged between 15 and 77, were apprehended between 10 February and 9 March, according to a joint statement released by the Singapore Police Force (SPF) on 19 March.
They are believed to be linked to over 2,700 scam cases, including impersonation scams, investment fraud, job and e-commerce scams, rental scams, and internet love scams.
Authorities from SPF’s Anti-Scam Command (ASCom) and Malaysia’s National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) also detected and froze more than 3,400 bank accounts suspected to be tied to scam operations.
Over S$2 million (RM7 million) in criminal proceeds were seized from these accounts.
The operation in Malaysia was led by the Royal Malaysia Police and coordinated by the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, with support from 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 28 February for allegedly managing a scam syndicate that posed as police officers.
He was apprehended following an arrest warrant issued by Singapore’s State Courts and subsequently handed over to Singaporean authorities. On 1 March, he was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit cheating.
In another case, a 48-year-old woman was deceived in an internet love scam after befriending a scammer on a dating app in December 2024.
Trusting that the individual was in financial distress, she transferred more than S$130,000 before realising it was a scam.
Investigators later traced part of the funds to a Malaysian payment service provider, recovering over S$34,000 with the help of the NSRC.
These investigations are part of Project Frontier+ (Funds Recovery Operations and Networks Team, Inspiring Effective Resolution Plus), which was launched in October 2024 to strengthen international cooperation against scam networks.
The initiative brings together anti-scam agencies from Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Maldives, South Korea, and Australia.
Frontier+ aims to disrupt scam syndicates by enabling seamless information sharing, coordinated enforcement action, and knowledge exchange.
The recent Singapore-Malaysia operation marks the first joint anti-scam effort between ASCom and other Frontier+ partners, with further operations involving other countries in the network currently being planned.
David Chew, Director of the Commercial Affairs Department, said the success of the operation underscores the importance of Singapore’s regional partnerships in tackling cross-border 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.
“We will continue to work together to stay ahead of the criminals’ tactics and, with help from our law enforcement partners overseas, ensure that transnational criminals are detected and arrested wherever they may choose to operate from.”
Singapore recorded S$1.1 billion in scam-related losses in 2024, marking a nearly 70 per cent increase from the S$651.8 million lost in 2023, according to police figures released on 25 February.
Nearly 25 per cent of these losses involved cryptocurrency, a sharp rise from the 6.8 per cent recorded in 2023.
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